Slayers Bittersweet
by seeker71
Summary: An Alternate Universe, where certain noncanon pairings are possible...
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes:

This story started off as a discussion about what might have to happen for Fila and Xellos to become a couple. Of course, it was conceeded that it was likely impossible for that to ever happen in the canon world of the Slayers, but this was a discussion based on "What if..." So, if you can suspend strict adherence to the canon for this story and treat it as a sort of Alternate Universe story, then I hope it entertains you.

A quick note. Since it has Filia in it, I have to work from the canon laid down in Try. In Try, Lina is very afraid of Luna. I know that in the mangas and novels she is respectful, but not very afraid of Luna, but in the mangas and novels a note that said "Just do it. Sis" wouldn't have sent her into a paniced building of her own tomb either. So, I'm trying to make Luna rather not nice in this story, atleast at first, to allow for a scared Lina. My apologies to fans of a kinder, gentler Luna. I will get to a story for her one day.

I also apologise to strict canon fans for adding a few quirks that I thought had to be there to allow for this story to work. Again I plead AU...

And one more apology to strict canon fans. Since this is meant to be AU to allow for the Filia X Xellos pairing, I decided to experiment with another alternate pairing as well, just to see how it would work. I will write a story for the canon pair after this is done. Indeed it is already starting to percolate through the wasteland of greymatter I use for a brain already...

A quick warning, then I'm done. I have used some adult themes in this story. I have tried to keep them at the level popularly (though somewhat incorrectly) known as Ecchi and avoid the level called Hentai. Please be warned, and use your discression if you don't like this sort of thing.

Now, ENJOY!!

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Xellos looked on at the scene in front of him and thought about how, just when you thought you had seen it all, there was always something new waiting in the wings. The two blonde women having a conversation in front of him was certainly proof of that!

One of them was, of course, his creator, and his mistress, Beastmaster Zellas-Metallium. She lounged on her dias, looking sleek and sexy, as usual, her trademark cigarette holder in her hand. But it had been an amazingly long time since she had taken a puff. In fact, she had been so busy paying attention to the other woman in front of her that her cigarette seemed to have gone out. Xellos couldn't remember a time when that had ever happened.

And he had several thousand years of memories to draw upon.

Of course, he couldn't remember a time when someone like the other woman had come to see her ladyship either...

The other woman was just a girl really. To look at her she was a distraught, tall blonde, about sixteen years of age or so. She was beautiful, almost as beautiful as Beastmaster. Almost...

Anyway, as with Xellos and Zellas, appearances were deceiving, for this girl, though she was indeed a girl by the standards of her own race, was a bit over six hundred years old, and although she was currently appearing in more or less human form, except for the shapely tail, she was actually a golden dragon. And not just any golden dragon! Xellos shook his head in amazement. In the first place, he never would have believed he would ever bring any dragon to the Beasmaster's lair on Wolfpack island so that the dragon could ask for help! But to bring this dragon?? Xellos had trouble believing it even though she was right there in front of him.

Of all the dragons to bring home to mama, Filia Ul Copt!!

As if that wasn't shocking enough, it was what she was asking for that was the real gem. Xellos reviewed the story yet again in his mind, it was so unbelievable.

He had been out and about, walking up and down and to and fro over the face of the earth, seeking to make trouble and carry out various missions, as usual. A major disturbance in the astral plane had alerted him to the fact that there might be something interesting happening in a nearby village, and also that there might be lots of free negative, evil emotions available to snack on. In a mazoku minute he had flashed to the site of the disturbance. It was apparent that there had been some sort of battle, the way the villagers were still running around in a panic confirmed that. On further investigation he found the ruined heap of a vaguely familiar building, clearly the center of the disturbance. Something had blown up the building and from what the villagers were saying it had been a "swarm" of dragons.

Dragons! Now the penny dropped, and Xellos realised what was so familiar about this place. This was supposed to be a shop...

One that sold Vases and Maces!

Kicking a small fire aside Xellos entered the smouldering ruin. There he saw Filia. She was bloodied, beaten, and thoroughly dishevelled, and in her human form. She was on her knees, trembling like a leaf, and holding what looked like a sharp crystal shard.

"Holla, Filia!" he said in a cheery voice, coming up to her. "What's the story here, somebody dropped a priceless vase did they?" He smiled at her, waiting for the usual smart remark about garbage...

Instead what he got was silence. She didn't even seem to know he was there. Xellos looked closer, and recognition dawned. The crystal shard was not part of a vase.

It was part of an egg...

In an instant Xellos now realised the gist of what had happened. Dragons had, for some reason, attacked Filia and destroyed the egg that held little Val in the process. Val, formerly known as ValGaav, had been an ancient dragon, the last surviving member of the race after the golden dragons of Filia's clan had attacked them out of fear that they had a super weapon of magic which they would use to enslave the races of dragonkind. They accidentally left one survivor, a little child, young Val. Without his parents Val was condemned to a slow death, but help had come from the most unlikely of sources. The mazoku lord, Gaav, met him on the ruins of the battlefield. In ancient times Gaav took for himself the form of a three headed dragon, before he was cursed to live trapped in a human body. Because of this he had a strange affinity for dragonkind and a strange pity on little Val. He offered him a chance at life, as his servant, and when Val accepted he stabbed the boy with his monstrous sword, killing him to dragonkind, and mixing him with Mazoku power to become the strange hybrid creature ValGaav.

ValGaav had been Gaav's most loyal and devoted, if rather insane, servant, and when Gaav had been killed by HellMaster Phibrizzo, an even more powerful mazoku lord, ValGaav's insanity had turned murderous and he set out to destroy the world by bringing a strange and evil being called Darkstar through from the dimension known as the Overworld. He nearly succeeded too, but in the end a brave band of adventurers, of which both Xellos and Filia had been part of, defeated him and prevented the destruction. In the process, ValGaav had died, but the Val part of him had been sealed into a crystal egg, possibly by the Goddess of Life, or, maybe just possibly, by the supreme deity of all, the ever capracious Lord of Nightmares herself! Filia had taken him, intending to be his mother and start again.

She had, by this time, learned enough about her own people and the murder of the ancient dragons to sever all ties with them. She had lived alone, making a living with this little shop, selling vases of exquisite beauty, and maces of extrordinarly quality, as Xellos knew only too well...

The hard way...

Oh well, they were traditional enemies after all...

Filia made her way in life with the help of Gavos and Jilas, her two assistants. Xellos scanned the area, but he couldn't pick up either of them. They might be dead, or they might have run far away, or been captured somehow...

Xellos was at a loss. Even he didn't understand what had happened. Why would dragons attack Filia and destroy her egg? But now he understood her strange state. Then a movement caught his eye. Filia had turned the shard...

Xellos was quick, inhumanly quick, and also inhumanly strong, but even with that he almost didn't stop the girl from stabbing herself to death with the shard. Val had not yet been ready to hatch, it takes years for that to happen, so the pointed shard, being made of crystaline dragon's egg, was still hard, almost like steel, a perfect dagger. And in her grief Filia was unusually strong. It was a very near thing, but finally Xellos overpowered her and prevented Filia's death.

It was then that she finally made a sound. She started to scream, then to cry hysterically, finally settling into sobs of grief so deep that even Xellos' heart would have broken...

If, of course, he had had one...

Finally she rested limply in his arms. It was then he spoke to her again. Trusting his hunch to be right he whispered to her "Do you really want death, or revenge?"

Now, for the first time, she turned and looked straight at him. The empty sorrow in her tear flooded eyes slowly filled with what could only be called...

Hope?

But it was an evil hope...

"How?" was all she asked.

He had explained, she had consented, he had lifted her into his arms and carried her the short hop through the astral plain to Wolfpack Island, and, well, now here they were, in the presence of the Beastmaster, herself. Filia told her story, and the blanks were filled in.

Filia's day had started as usual, she got up, said "Good Morning!" to little Val in his egg, and went about the business of breakfast and opening up shop. And it seemed like just another typical day.

Until...

Three men arrived. Filia instantly knew they were dragons in human form, and felt uneasy. Still, she suspected nothing of their mission until they silently presented her with a paper bearing the great seal of the "Great Council of All Dragons". Her hands shook as she opened the seal. What she read inside caused her very soul to go black with horror.

It said, in very terse language, that it had been determined that Val might be hatched still loyal to Gaav and try to destroy the world again. She was to surrender the egg for immediate destruction and to come with the agents who bore the letter she was reading as their prisoner. She would be brought before the Great Council where her own fate would be decided. Filia had looked into the faces of the agents and had seen the guilt they felt about their mission. She had also seen that a little thing like that wasn't about to stop them.

With nothing to lose, Fila had attacked. The battle was fierce, but brief. Filia didn't remember much of what happened but the pain in her head left her in no doubt she had been struck down hard, and probably was thought to be dead. Otherwise, her attackers wouldn't have left her behind.

When she awoke she was alone. Her attackers had left the shard of the smashed egg in front of her, whether by accident or cruel design she did not know, and little Val's unborn body she found burned to a crisp. In her shock she had tried to pick it up. It had crumpled to ash in her hand, she didn't even have a body to bury. Her first feeling had been profound grief, and a raging desire for revenge. But alas, she had not the means of bringing her vengeance home upon those who had wrecked her life and ripped her beating heart from her living chest. She was overwhelmed by black grief and despairing hopelessnes and the desire to die overwhelmed her. She hadn't even been aware of Xellos until he had stopped her suicide. At first, she thought he intended to have his gloat, but then he had whispered of how she might attain her impossible desire...

So now they were back to the present. Filia prostrated herself before Zellas and pleaded with her. "Great Majesty. I am dead to myself already. I can only offer myself to you, to serve you forever, however you want, if you will grant me my revenge. If you won't, then I beg you to kill me however it pleases you. Or let me go, that I may kill myself." She went silent, there was no more to say.

Beastmaster stared down at the girl for a long time. Even Xellos wasn't able to read her thoughts. Finally, she replied. "Well, little one, you are the most amazing surprise I have had in a very long time, a very long time indeed. Perhaps ever."

She was silent again, then she asked "Upon whom will you seek this revenge you desire so strongly? The Great Dragon Council thingy?"

Filia looked up at Zellas with a strange stare. Slowly she got up onto her knees and looked Beastmaster straight in the eyes. Then, finally, she answered in a quiet, eerie voice "On them all..."

By now, Xellos' eyes were open, with astonishment, not evil. A very rare occurance. "All?" he asked quietly, to himself really, but Filia heard, and answered.

"I thought about it as you flew me over." she said, her voice little more than a whisper. "I asked myself what kind of beings could kill a whole race of their own kind off, then kill an unborn baby just because there was an unproven, slender chance that there might be a threat? There was only one answer."

She paused, trembling. Then, holding her face in her hand she cried out in anguish. "An evil one!"

She went on "The... truth... once you see it, it is so simple... but getting to the point of believing in it is impossible sometimes..." With this she folded over and fresh tears flowed as great sobs filled the room.

Now it was Beastmaster's turn to astonish Xellos. She jumped up off the dias and gathered the weeping dragon into her arms, whispering motherly words of comfort and soothing. "You poor child..." she soothed in a kindly voice that was so gentle it could still the raging waves. "You have been through too, too much, little one. Here, cry on my shoulder and let your tears ease the pressure of your pain..." Her cigarette holder was nowhere to be seen.

Filia couldn't help but cry, and for a time she just wept, taking comfort from one who was supposed to be her mortal enemy. Finally the weeping slowed. "I-I'm sorry..." she gulped to Zellas. "I just couldn't stop the tears..."

Zellas stroked her face and kissed her forehead. "Little Filia, do not worry. Such outbursts are part of mourning. This will happen again. Let it. Do not be ashamed of your grief for Val, it only shows how much you loved him. It is a strength, not a weakness..."

"Th-thank you..." whispered Filia, still choked with her emotions.

"Now, please carry on and tell me what you started to say about a simple truth that cannot be believed. I think you are verging on something important." coaxed Zellas gently.

Filia gave a brave, sad smile. "Yes. I don't weep only for Val, but also because I now know that everything I was taught to value and believe is based on a lie. The lie that we are good..."

A pause, then she went on. "Wh-, begging your pardon Lady, but, when Lord Ceiphied defeated Lord Ruby Eye we were always told it was the triumph of good over evil. Of course that meant that we dragons were also good as a result. So good we murder our own kind rather than seek a peaceful end to our fears. No, what it really is, is that the winners write the history books, and no one ever questions. But, what if Lord Ceiphied wasn't good? What if this whole world wasn't good, but rather corrupt and evil? And Lord Ceiphied was the High Lord of that corruption? Wouldn't it be more likely that he was deluded and believed himself to be good? But, he wasn't..."

Filia took a deep breath and went on. "What if what really happened was that Lord Ruby Eye saw the truth, that the world was corrupt, flawed, and needed to be destroyed? Of course he, and those of his decendants who tried to carry on that mission, would seem evil to those who didn't want to die, but in reality, he was carrying out the higher good! Perhaps ValGaav saw this because of Lord Gaav. And now I think he had the right idea, that the world had to be destroyed, but he just used the wrong method. Now I see why he had to die again today. It was the only way to pass the torch. Oh, if only it had passed to someone worthy, not this dishonourable little girl..."

Zellas smiled kindly. "Filia, the torch passes to whom it must. You are the worthy one. You will only be dishonorable if you refuse this and make a mockery of Val's unfortunate death. Do you understand that?"

Filia thought then looked at Beastmaster with timid wonder in her eyes. She nodded.

Zellas hugged her and soothed her and said "I want you to do something for me. I will send for my servants and they will bathe you, tend your wounds, give you food and drink, and put you to bed. I want you to go with them and let them minister to you. I want you to drink of the nepenthe they will give you, and sleep. We will talk again after you wake up. Will you do that for me?" she asked.

Filia nodded. "Thank you, lady..." she said quietly.

Xellos clapped his hands and three elf maids appeared quickly. They were clearly slaves, and cringed before Zellas. Beastmaster was obviously a Mistress to be obeyed. Xellos quietly ordered what Zellas had wanted and they ran off to prepare everything. While they were gone Zellas continued to talk quietly with Filia about little things. Pleasant things. She even coaxed a reluctant smile from the distraught dragon girl. Soon the slaves returned and Filia was lead away to rest.

Only when Filia was safely out of hearing range did Zellas let go. She lay down on the floor and giggled and giggled for the longest time. Not knowing what to do, Xellos stood there and waited. Zellas finally got up, walked straight over to Xellos and threw a big hug around him as she laughed in evil delight, which relieved Xellos no end. It wouldn't do for Beasmaster to have gone soft, after all.

"Oh, what a delight you are my precious boy!" she said, dancing around with him. "What a present to bring home to mama!" Xellos smiled. Beastmaster only ever called herself his "mother" when she was delighted with him, and only used the term "mama" when she was in ecstacy.

"She's perfect!" Zellas went on. "Oh what shall I make with this lump of clay? Something wonderously evil!" She released Xellos and danced her way back to her dias. As she sat down her cigarette lighter reappeared and a lit cigarette was in it. Zellas inhaled deeply and sent a big cloud of blue smoke into the room. "We must talk..." she said, indicating a chair for Xellos to sit in. 


	2. Chapter 2

In the morning Filia woke from a mercifully dreamless sleep, and for a short time she didn't quite remember where she was, or why. She felt as if she had been physically wrung out to the breaking point, then miraculously brought back...

But from where? And to where?

The room was pleasant enough, soft whites, elegant furnishings, and a comfortable bed. Filia frowned a bit, this wasn't her room. Was she in a hotel? If so, where? Oh, and who was paying? This was too expensive for her.

And where was Val? She sat at the side of the bed. Thinking of Val brought a feeling of profound unease. She realised something had happened and she had only forgotten. She dreaded remembering, but she knew she must. She saw a pull cord on the wall, the kind which was used to summon servants with. She hesitated, whispered goodbye to the peace, and rang.

Almost instantly the three elf slaves from yesterday were in the room, bowing and begging the "Young Miss" to command them. Filia trembled and asked "Where am I?" The elves looked at each other, then one nervously replied "I-in our Lady Beastmaster's guest room, Young Miss."

With the name Beastmaster, Filia remembered, and began to cry. The elf women also became upset, certain that they had done something wrong and would be punished for sure. They implored Filia to tell them what was wrong, apologising profusely. A light voice brought their hearts to their throat as Xellos appeared from nowhere and gently asked why "Miss Filia" was upset.

The women fell to their knees. They were doomed... Filia answered the question and explained she had momentarily forgotten where she was, and why, and that her memory had returned coincidentally with the prompt arrival of the three in answer to her bell. Xellos smiled enigmatically, and shooed the women out. He sat on the bed beside Filia, trying to not seem as if he were enjoying the bountiful negative energy coming from her sorrow.

"You must learn to be less merciful to the domestics." he said. He sounded quietly happy as he said that. "As hard as it sounds it will help steel you to the task you have asked to take on."

Filia responded by silently laying her head on his chest for comfort. It rather bothered Xellos, good mazoku that he was, but he bravely played his part and put an arm around her, hugging her to him, not sure what to do next. Well, but he hadn't been a big brother before, had he?

"Is my request granted then?" she asked softly. "I am sorry about the elves, I have much to learn about being evil, or good, or, whatever it is, but right now my hatred and my sorrow are fixed on dragonkind, not on any other race. And I just could never punish anyone without a real reason. I-I'm sorry if I disapoint you..."

Xellos smirked then said "That's to be expected. As to Lady Zellas' decision, she will tell you herself, it isn't my place to speak."

Filia was silent for awhile then said "If she wants me dead, so be it. You may torture me as you want, I'll try to give you good sport, but, please, promise me it will end, Xellos. I want to join Val if I cannot avenge him."

Xellos shook his head in amazement. "Well, you are certainly in high spirits. Anyway, I have come to ask if you would care to join My Lady for brunch, since it is late in the morning. At least some tea perhaps?" Filia nodded. "Tea, I could handle tea, I think." she replied.

She got up and went to the mirror to brush her hair. She stopped and stared. "Oh..." she said, quietly, then "Xellos, where are my clothes?"

Xellos was a bit surprised at this, after all, the old Filia would have been screaming in some sort of a fit of mortal, or at least moral, embarassment, but now she was just startled to learn she was naked. Only her tail still had the customary pink bow. Finally a spark of the old Filia showed up, and she blushed as she looked around. Xellos smiled and averted his eyes, teasingly. By now he had seen everything. But, on the other hand, he was a mazoku, the effect wasn't the same.

He said "Well, since you seem to prefer wearing real clothes these days to the ones you used to create for your avatar form, the simple truth is that your clothes were ruined in the fight with the three dragons, and are unwearable."

Filia nodded and said "That's right. Believe it or not, I find real clothes warmer and easier to move in than the pink frillies I make from my power."

Xellos nodded. He went on "You don't remember, but you were nearly this naked when you appeared before My Lady last evening. I told the slaves to find some clothes suitable for you. I shall send them in and they will help you dress. Shall we say tea in the drawing room in one quarter of an hour then?" he asked. Filia nodded. Promising to return to get her, Xellos left her to prepare.

Soon Filia was dressed in a simple, tail hiding, ankle length gown. No ruffles or petticoats. It was creamy white in colour, had plain, short sleeves, and was adorned with simple designs worked into the material in a pale pink. Her hair was brushed and set in a plain pony tail. The band used to hold it was a bit omninous, being a fierce wolf's head design, but, this was Wolfpack island, after all. Her white boots had been cleaned and were still useable, but she opted for some light slippers. Nothing fancy, but she managed to look very pretty just the same. Or perhaps it was just her...

She gulped, entered, and bowed when Xellos brought her to the room, then stood there, not knowing what else to do. Zellas was standing, smoking and looking out a big window, with her back to Filia. This awkward situation lasted for a full minute, at least, long enough for Filia to glance nervously at Xellos, who merely stood there, smirking.

Zellas spoke, very quietly. "Come little Filia, join me at the window and tell me what you see." she requested, rather enigmatically. Filia went over and looked out. The first thing she saw was a lush garden with beautiful plants and flowers. She felt a strange desire to go and explore. "W-Well, Majesty, I see a flower garden. In former times I would have loved to go sit in it just to enjoy the beauty. Now I think I'd like to sit in it to remember my-my baby. He would have been beautiful too..." she choked.

Zellas reached an arm out and hugged the grieving girl. "Yes, it is lovely." she said. What else do you see?" Filia looked again and realised there were little furry animals in the garden too. "Bunnies!" she said.

And indeed they were. All fluffy they were with their fur a soft milk chocolate brown. She felt a mute sort of awe at the beauty of the scene. "I-it is beautiful, Lady." she said quietly.

"Is it?" asked Beastmaster in a mysterious tone. "Look again." Filia looked, the scene was the same, peace and beauty, and the playfull bunnies gamboling on the lawn. Filia watched, a bit puzzled. Suddenly, with no warning at all, a dark shape swooped upon the rabbits and cruel talons pierced one of the soft animals in a fatal grip. The death scream of the little creature could be heard through the window as the owl bore the rabbit away. Its companions were nowhere to be found. Filia gasped in shock.

Zellas hugged the girl tighter and spoke softly. "Think before you judge, little Filia. What happened to the rabbit, a tragedy, yes?"

Filia nodded and Zellas asked her next question. "And the owl was evil?"

"Yes..., wait, n-no? I-I don't know..." replied a somewhat confused Filia. She hadn't expected what just happened, nor Beasmasters questions about it.

"Come." said Zellas quietly, in her soothing voice. "Let us sit and have our tea. We need to talk. Xellos, if you please..." They sat down.

Xellos transformed from his robes to the dress of a snooty butler and began pouring the tea, very formally. He appeared to be enjoying the role. "You're overdoing it, Xelly." smirked Zellas. "Anything for my Mistress!" was the cheerful reply.

"I'm sorry that you had to be upset like this." said Zellas as she stirred a spot of cream into her tea. "Please, tell me what you think of what you just saw?" she asked.

Filia paused for a minute and sipped her tea to steady herself. She cocked an eye in surprise and looked at the cup, she had never tasted anything like this before.

Zellas chuckled. "It's called black tea, my dear. It's just good tea that was carefully roasted to bring out different flavours than you are used to with the green variety most dragons drink."

Filia nodded. "It is strange, but good." she said. "What did I see? A life being taken. Is it evil? My initial feeling was to think it was..." she said, hesitantly.

Zellas smiled kindly and replied "Shall I show you the owl's nest? And her two baby chicks that the rabbit is now feeding?"

Filia paused "I should have thought of that. Yes. It was evil to the rabbit, but good to the owl, wasn't it?" She paused. "I-I'm not sure what to make of it." she said.

"Well, it isn't an easy question is it?" responded Zellas, sipping her own tea. "Where do we start? The owl has to eat, but to do so it has to kill. Poor rabbit. But what of the rabbit? It has to eat too. My poor garden! Those rabbits weren't in it for a gambol, they were devouring the plants, little Filia. And the plants. They were busy fighting each other for the sun, the soil, and the water. War for the best growing spaces. Why, even the earthworms in the soil fight for their territory. All is war and murder and eating or being eaten. It is like this all over the world is it not?"

Filia thought and slowly nodded. "What are we to make of this?" she asked, with a sad look on her face.

"You knew the answer last night." said Zellas softly. "Do you still accept it as the truth?"

Filia was silent for a space then with a tone of resigned acceptance she said "This world really is corrupt isn't it?" She was silent and thoughtful for another space of time. "Yes, Lady, I still accept it. This world must end..." She put her tea down and slumped over, as if accepting the weight of the doomed world onto her shoulders.

"I am sorry, I really am." said Zellas in her softest soothing voice as she came over to Filia and hugged her again.

After a while she released Filia and said "The thing is, if I give you the power you ask for I have to be sure you will use it as you intend. You ask much, little one, you are asking to join the Mazoku and partake of our holy mission. If you can't do it you should say so now, and we will let you go on your way to whatever destiny awaits you. If you do join with us, if you do take the pledge, you will be one of us forever, and even if you fail you will never be set free. Do you understand this?" she asked.

Filia answered without hesitating. "I have lost my people, I have lost my baby, and those who destroyed my life thought I was physically dead. Where should I go? I have only death left. So, the choice is, do I give in and pass away without leaving a mark, just another dead dragon to feed the birds, then be forgoten as fast as they can eliminate me, or do I rage against the injustice that brought me here and take the world down with me? Val's blood screams to me, Lady. It screams of the corruption of the world. It screams of the need to end it all." She sounded rather fierce.

She looked at the woman beside her and said in a determined voice "Beastmaster Zellas-Metalium, I choose you." she lowered her eyes then added "Of course, it is up to you to decide if you accept my choice, Majesty."

Zellas smiled, a big, satisfied smile. "Well spoken, little Filia. Well spoken." She was silent for a bit then said "But your resolve has not yet been tested, has it?" Filia gave her a questioning look. Zellas smiled and said "Come."

Filia gulped. What was she getting into? She dutifully followed Zellas. They went down several flights of stairs into what was certainly a dungeon. Stopping outside an ominous, thick wooden door Zellas said to Filia "Little one, you are about to be put to the test. I want you to know that if you fail, I will not blame you, but I cannot help you. You have not yet taken the pledge to me, so if you fail I will send you home. Be aware, if you should pass this test, take the pledge, and then fail in the future, the consequences will be much worse. Do you wish to go on?"

Filia thought for a minute, then nodded. "Yes, at least let me see the test..." she whispered. "Fair enough." nodded Zellas, indicating to Xellos to open the door. It swung in with an ominous creek. "Get the door oiled." sighed Zellas. "I hate cliches..."

They entered and Filia stopped suddenly, her hand to her mouth. They were in a dry, clean, well lit stone room. A bit cool, perhaps, but not unpleasant. What was unpleasant was what Filia saw. At the far wall were the three elf slaves. They were facing the rough stone wall with their arms above their heads as far as they would go, and their wrists shackled to the wall with what looked like cruel skeletal hands. Filia was trembling, the elves were openly crying.

"Oh, you think this is bad now?" sneered Beastmaster at them. "Just wait..." The elves cried all the more.

Zellas said to Filia "It may help you to know that these ladies became my slaves by asking for my help and then failing to fulfill their end of the bargain, little Filia. They deserve no mercy. This is also not a threat, but a warning, of what might be in store for you too, if you pledge to me and fail. I felt you needed to know this." She then pointed to a small table. "If you want to serve me, Filia, then take that and use it without hesitation on their backs until I stop you. Do not show mercy." she ordered.

Filia looked. On the table was a cruel whip. She gasped.

"Come, Filia, now. Don't hesitate." Beastmaster commanded. "Or do you not want to any more?" she asked.

Filia gasped again and stiffly took the whip then stood there trembling. "I- I..." she blurted.

"Now!" said Beastmaster forcefully.

Filia screamed and swung the whip awkwardly. She managed to hit one of the elves, who screamed as well. "Oh that didn't even hurt." Zellas spat at the slave.

Xellos appeared behind Filia and started massaging the knots out of the dragon girl's rigid shoulders. "Filia." he whispered "If this was a battle you'd be dead already, and Lady Zellas' gift would be wasted. You would have failed her. And worse, you would have failed Val..."

Filia became animated. "Yes! Yes! I know, I've just never..."

Xellos continued to sooth her. "It is hard, always, I might add, not just at first, but it is necessary too. Do you see that?" Filia nodded. "Good," continued Xellos. "Now, try again, you can do it. It will get better with practice, both the skill with the whip, and the cruelty. Note, I said better, not easier." Filia nodded again. She closed her eyes and took a very deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again there was a strange, determined light in them. She took a step towards the slaves, turned, and bowed low to Zellas. "Lady Beastmaster, please forgive me this once. I won't fail you again, my Lady, but I needed to learn to steel my heart. I will do what you ask now."

Zellas was unemotional as she leaned against the wall. She had her usual cigarette in its holder and she took a long puff. Without a word she simply pointed it at the slaves. Filia bowed again, turned, and swung with a vengance. It was a clumsy stroke, but it smacked loudly, and elicited a scream of obvious pain. With that, Filia began to whip in earnest. Xellos was right, the strokes improved with practice, it wasn't so different from swinging a mace, really.

Up and down her arm went, back and forth snapped the whip. Soon the poor slaves had lost their thin robes and stood naked against the wall as the cruel whip continued to dance over their backs, and anywhere else Filia happened to hit. The slaves screamed high pitched screams of terror and pain. Their skin could only take so much and soon they began to bleed from the savage strokes.

With the blood, Filia seemed to enter into a trance. She began screaming as well, but her screams were lower pitched. They were more like growls really. She had a strange, fierce look on her face. Not blood lust, exactly, but determination. And a desire to hurt and hurt and hurt. Her grief for Val was now begining to come out in the whip, not tears.

By now Zellas was standing up and watching the scene with a look of rapt attention. Nothing like a good whipping to warm a mazoku's heart after all. Or whatever it was they had...

She almost didn't feel Xellos tug at her sleeve. Finally she turned. "Is it your wish for Filia to kill the slaves?" he asked, matter of factly. Zellas shook herself and regained her control. "Filia." she commanded.

Such was the force of her command that Filia actually stopped. But she almost seemed to hit an emotional brick wall doing so. She staggered, gasped, and came back from where ever she was, dropping the whip in the process. She blinked several times, then seemed to remember where she was. She bowed very low to Beastmaster. "Yes, My Lady?" she asked.

Zellas smiled. "You pass." She laughed a strange laugh of truimph and cruelty, then said "We will do the ceremony tonight." and disappeared...

Xellos smiled. "Congratulations Filia! You did well. You really, really did well!" he said jovially. "Listen, after you take the pledge you will need training about how to use your powers. Don't expect to attack anyone right away, but if you show the same spirit in your training you showed here just now, I'll bet you'll be slaying dragons in less than six months."

Filia nodded. "Th-thank you, L-L-Lord Xellos." she said, hesitantly. "I will certainly do my best."

Xellos patted her shoulder. "Except for ceremonies, just "Xellos" will do, unless Our Lady says otherwise." he said. "But you should go outside now and run around, or watch clouds, or laugh, or cry, or do whatever you like to do in order to calm yourself down. I'll come for you later and help you prepare."

Filia nodded and turned and dashed up the stairs. She needed air, and the sun, after the close darkess of the dungeon. She gasped at that, it had seemed so well lit and airy when she had entered, but, emotions can change everything.  
"And now to treat your wounds, you poor things..." Xellos smiled at the elves. A cruel smile. The elves, who had stopped screaming and had calmed down to a wimper, now they began to cry afresh. And though it was no good they began begging "Lord Xellos" to not sully himself with their wounds. They had suffered too much over the years of their enslavement to do otherwise. Xellos just smiled and said he wouldn't hear of it.

In truth, he was good at tending their wounds so they healed properly. After all, it wouldn't do to not take care of Her Ladyship's property. It was just that he had his own way of doing so. For example, the very hot salt water he was about to wash their abused backs with... 


	3. Chapter 3

Six months later, Lina Inverse, now almost twenty two years old, came home. She had Gourry in tow, of course, in fact that's why she came home. They had finally decided to "tie the knot". Apparently there was some hemming and hawing about settling down, but hey, they were still young...

"Oooooo, look who has to get married!" That was Lina's older sister, Luna, and she was busy teasing Lina about the happy anouncement.

Lina's eyes flashed in an indignant way, one that had often spelled disaster for the person who spoke amiss to her. But, not this time. You just didn't do that sort of thing to Luna.

And get away with it...

"H-hey, come on big sister, it isn't like that at all. What are you saying here?" she said, in a slightly hesitant voice.

Luna came and peered closely at Lina, a serious look on her face. "Hey? Well, isn't he the most important man you've ever met? Isn't he even more important to you than our dear daddy is? Doesn't he mean so much to you that you can't imagine going through life without him anymore? Isn't he "the one", so therefore, you just have to get married?" she asked sounding all perplexed.

"Gsshhhh!" replied Lina. "That's true. I, uh, thought you were, uh, implying something else..."

"Why what do you mean?" asked a hurt Luna. "What on earth could I be implying?"

Lina was spared from answering as her mother chuckled "Luna, you aren't that dumb, and yes you were..."

Luna laughed. "Ya, okay, busted there! Sorry, Lina, but how could I resist?" she asked with a knowing wink at her sister. At least it wasn't a "noogy..."

Of course, given the way Luna's brunette bangs hung down over her eyes, Lina never actually saw the wink...

"By trying?" That was Ayn.

Ayn was someone rather new to Lina as she only recently joined with Luna. Officialy, she was Luna's squire...

It worked like this. Luna Inverse was the current possessor of one of the five pieces of the great Flare Dragon, Cephied, the same one Filia had blasphemed by saying he was evil. As everyone was supposed to know, though there were apparently some who didn't, after defeating Ruby Eyed Shabradnigdo, who was the highest lord of the mazoku, in a great battle, Ceiphied had torn Shabradnigdo into seven pieces and sealed them away in a bid to decrease the evil influence of the mazoku on the world. After that, too exhausted to remain together himself, Ceiphied had broken into five pieces. Four had become the great dragon lords of old, such as the Fire Lord, or the Aqua Lord, but one piece had taken a different route and would take a human host, staying with the person from birth to death, and making them the most powerful sword fighter in the world. There were even some magical swords around that could only be used by the Knight, they were that powerful.

Right now, that person was Luna. Even Gourry was nowhere near a match for her, and that was saying a lot! Though it had never been tested, the belief was, among those who knew about these sorts of things, that Luna had become stronger than Xellos himself. At any rate, she was the most powerful knight in the land. Heck, make that in all the lands. Like any good knight, she eventually needed a squire. And, in the fullness of time, Ayn had appeared.

Lina didn't know much about Ayn, aside from the obvious, she was tall, had beautiful long black hair, mysterious coal black eyes that seemed like shafts into an impossibly deep soul, perfect white skin, and, oh yes, the inevitable, she had bigger breasts than Lina...

Yeah, yeah, but who didn't?

She reminded Lina of an unexpectedly pretty cross between Naga and Eris, only without the blockheadedness or the evil, and her laugh was actually something pleasant to listen to, usually. For some reason, Lina founds that scary...

There was also something about Ayn that seemed, well, not human. She looked young, but you got the impression she was very old, in human terms...

At any rate, the girl wouldn't say much about herself, and Luna was no more forthcoming. Still, they seemed to get along well together, most of the time.

Furthermore, Ayn had a razor sharp sarcastic humour and desert dry wit that even Luna had learned to respect. And that was also saying a lot!

"Well, but that would be, uh, so, so, uh, wasting the opportunity!" Luna stumbled, trying to answer Ayn's put down. Lina allowed herself a very slight smile at Luna's expence. Her big sister was rarely at such a loss for words...

"And implying she's knocked up isn't?" asked Ayn. Lina's smile became a sweatdropped cringe...

Ayn went on. Sounding perfectly serious she said "We all know the real reason she's marrying him is 'cause it's the only chance she has of ever getting back some of the money she's told us that he owes her."

Lina face-faulted to the floor. "I, I can hear you..." she said lamely. No, that wasn't why she was marrying him, but yes, he did owe her money. She realised she should have kept her mouth shut, but too late now, Ayn was obviously enjoying this as well as Luna...

"Well, I suppose..." said Luna in reply to Ayn, apparently not hearing Lina. "Really now, I was just trying to imply that she had finally found someone who actually liked short, flat chested girls, and that she was taking full advantage of the opportunity."

"That's a self evident truth, Luna." replied Ayn, "Therefore it isn't what you meant at all..."

"I can still hear you..." gasped an exasperated Lina as she got off the floor. She looked over to her mother, hoping for moral support. Alas, her mother was busy giggling at her sister.

A nasty little snicker came drifting across the room. Lina looked over and glared. Spot, Luna's pet werewolf, was quietly working away preparing food for supper and seemed oh, so, innocent, but Lina knew better. She had met Spot before. Way before. Before he was even Spot. Back when his name was Dulgear...

When Lina had first met him, he was working for the famous Rezo the Red Priest. His job at the time was to help Rezo's grandson (Or was it great-grandson? No one actually knew.) His name was Zelgadiss Greywords,and he was a chimera, though he used to be a human before running afoul of his grandfather (or great-grandfather).

Dulgear had been there at the first meeting with Lina and Zel. Lina had been hiding a valuable artifact that Zel, or more accurately, Rezo, had wanted. At one point she and Gourry had been jumped and eventually Lina had been captured. She was taken to a ramshackle castle and hung by her wrists and subjected to torture to try and get her to reveal the location of the item.

Actually, the torture had consisted of insults flung at her while she was gagged, and a discussion about raping her, which no one wanted to do, it seemed. Apparently she was too flat chested to be of interest...

Naturally the anger generated in Lina by all this (after all, which is worse, being raped, or being told you are much too plain to rape?) helped in her escape, as did Zelgadiss' apparent change of heart when he lent her a hand. Actually, as Lina later found out, Rezo had put a control spell on Zel, but Zel was finally able to shake it just in time to help Lina. In the course of the attempt at recapturing her, she, Gourry, and Dulgear, had squared off and had it out.

Dulgear lost...

Years later he had stumbled into Zephielia city, where Luna lived, and terrorised the neighbourhood looking for food. Luna had captured him and starved him into submission, including getting him to accept that his new name was Spot. When Lina found out about this she had several good laughs at his expense, which weren't appreciated, but eventually the two of them did reach a kind of truce. After all, Luna told them to. But each of them still didn't mind the other's discomfort, which was why Spot was snickering at Lina now. He enjoyed it when the tables turned against Lina.

Just because.

Anyway, Lina glared at him but could do nothing, at least not now. He was Luna's pet and she wasn't about to let Lina bop him one for a snicker, and she knew it. If only he didn't, but, of course, he did...

Lina sighed. If only her daddy and her Gourry were here, but, alas and alack, whatever the heck that meant, daddy had taken Gourry out to the local pub for a round on the house, an old custom in Zefielia where the father in law to be takes his son in law to be out to meet his friends and have several drinks. She wondered what shape they would be in when they got back. Daddy wasn't a big drinker, and neither was Gourry, but these things often ended in a contest to see if the husband to be was man enough to take his intended bride away from her father. Usually this meant seeing who could drink the most. However, seeing that they were both swordsmen, it occured to Lina there could always be worse ways to settle it...

Her thoughts were interupted as Luna slipped up. She was still pretending to be talking to Ayn, knowing full well that Lina could hear her. "... and anyway, self evident truth or not, if she's found someone who likes that she still looks like a little girl..."

Several things happened at once.

Perhaps the most immediate response was Luna's own realisation as she promptly clamped her hand over her mouth and turned dark red. Ayn buried her forhead into the palm of her hand and Luna's mother barked out a shocked "Luna!" Even Spot stopped and cocked an eye. He might have thought that, but he would never, ever have said it.  
And not just because Lina was a slick chick with the fireballs...

Lina just looked stunned for a minute and seemed to tremble. Her size and shape had always been tender spots for her emotionally, and Luna had learned how to push those buttons all too well in their squabbles when they were growing up. But this went too far.

"H-how... How dare you?" she quavered at her sister. Then she yelled it. "HOW DARE YOU?" She stomped her foot and went on. "You pick on me all you want, Luna, you go ahead, I guess I deserve it, but by all the hells, YOU LEAVE GOURRY ALONE!!" With that, she ran from the house, crying.

"Well done..." said Luna's mom. Ayn was silent, and Spot very quietly got on with his work.

Luna sighed and shook her head. "I should cut my tongue out, I always end up doing this. Always. I don't know what's wrong with me..."

"Yeah, you do, but you won't admit to it. To yourself, let alone anyone else..." replied a quiet Ayn. This time, she wasn't teasing.

"Right now, you better go apologize, don't you think?" asked her mom. Luna nodded and went after her sister. Of course, that would be easier said than done. Lina, when growing up, had learned the back streets and alleyways of Zephielia better than anyone else, even Luna. Of course, Luna's chasing her, looking for revenge for some girlish slight ot other had had something to do with that...

So, as Luna searched for her sister, Lina, without even trying to, managed to avoid her. Anyway, Lina didn't want to see her just now, she was looking for the one person who would make it better. Now, which pub would daddy have taken him to? She had to stop every now and then and wipe the tears from her eyes.

As she looked for Gourry she talked to herself. "Bloody hell Luna. Why did you go and spoil it? Why do you always have to go and spoil it? What did I ever do to you? You're my big sister, you're the Knight of Ceiphied, you're mom and dad's pet, you're the hero of all Zepheilia, you've got everything going your way, why does my existence bother you so much? It's not like I asked to be born so I could be a bother to you. Couldn't I have just a little bit of happiness? It's my wedding after all. I don't want much, just my family's blessing, can't I have that? Then Gourry can take me away and you'll never have to see me again if you don't want to. Then you can get married and settle down here in Zephielia and be mom and dad's pride and joy and make them the grandparents they want to be and I'll just show up once in a while to let my kids know their grandma and grandpa. Can't I do that? Isn't it okay?"

She stopped babbling as a thought brushed past her. "Hey, wait, you're already twenty four, why aren't you married already? You're just about passed the age most girls feel they have to be married by, why haven't you ever even had a boyfriend?" She pondered this, she couldn't tell what it was, but she had the feeling there was something to this.

A suspicion crossed her mind. "Are you and Ayn... ? But, no, you don't seem like a couple somehow. Though, what would I know about girl/girl couples. Oh this makes no sense Luna, what's going on?"

By now she had stopped crying, and, feeling braver, she decided to take her search out to the main streets of town. Fortunately, most of the nearby pubs were fairly close together, so it wouldn't be a long search. Of course, if daddy and Gourry had gone to one of the taverns that were across town that could be another matter...

Lina found the first pub quickly enough, but when she got to the door she became overwhelmed by the feeling that she shouldn't interupt the night out for daddy and Gourry. After all, they were doing silly, manly stuff that would help them forge a bond for life. And they were probably rehashing the story of how they first met, yet again. The one where daddy stopped Gourry from throwing away the Sword of Light and set him on the path that had somehow led to Lina. She had heard it so many times already that she had it memorised...(1)

Thus, being in a turmoil, she sat down on a bench by the road and tried to think things through. She was still at it when her father and her fiance found her there a bit later. "Oi! Lina, thish is a su-prise." said Gourry, looking puzzled, in a tipsy sort of way.

"Hey baby girl..." he father added in his own slightly off kilter way. "Arn'...t you shpossed to be home with mommy?"

"Oh you know..." said Lina, trying to sound brave. "Girl talk can get so stuffy, so I, uh, took a walk..." She felt even more strongly that she was intruding and rued her hasty departure. If only she could stand up to Luna...

"Ah, Luna again..."said her dad, sounding suspiciously less tipsy than a moment ago.

Lina gulped, nodded, tried to hold back, then started crying again. "I-I'm sorry, I'm intruding on your night out, it's nothing, as usual, you know me..." she said, unable to stop weeping.

"And I know Luna." said her dad. "Well, we were going home anyway, so you aren't interupting. I will leave you here with Gourry, I think he can dry your tears better that your old dad can. I'm off to see about Luna..." With that he walked off towards home.

"So, what's going on?" asked Gourry, also sounding suspiciously less tipsy as he held Lina close to him.

"I was being teased, and it got out of hand is all." she said apologetically. "You know me, it takes nothing to set me off..."

"Yeah, I know you," said Gourry with a smile as he kissed her forehead lightly. "And you aren't usually set off by "nothing". So, come on, tell me. Being here for you is one of those silly things I want to do with my life."

Lina hugged him tight then explained. "Luna was teasing me, it was to be expected, and as part of her teasing she was picking on my body. Nothing new, she knows I'm sensitive there, and she can't always resist. But then she said that... that, that you were only interested in me because I look like a little girl..."

"Er, well, you are a little girl, Lina, as far as that goes. Or at least a little woman..." Gourry said, uncertainly.

Lina sighed. "No Gourry, she meant I look like a child and the implication was that you are "into" children..."

"Well, I think having some children of our own is a great idea!" enthused Gourry.

"Oh Gourry..." said Lina as she started to cry again. "That's not what I meant..."

Gourry cuddled her close and said quietly "I understand what you mean Lina. It wasn't nice of her. I just thought I could tease a smile from you is all. Sorry."

"I-I'm sorry too..." said Lina, with a sniffle. "I know you aren't as dumb as you act..."

"I'll take that as a compliment." chuckled Gourry. "Listen, do you remember when we first met? The bandits on the road?"

"Y-yes..." she said

"Do you remember what happpened afterwards?" he asked.

Lina smiled. "Yeah. I get it. You thought I was a twelve year old girl and wanted to help me find my daddy. Not exactly the stuff child molesters are made of." She snuggled closer.

"So, you know the truth, despite what anyone else might say?" he asked gently.

"Yeah, I do know the truth, that's why Luna got to me so much. She was lying about you, whether she meant it or not, and that really hurt. I bring you home so that I can show off my wonderful Jellyfish, and she smears him with some of the foulest muck around..."

"Raking it in, was she?' asked Gourry.

"Huh?" replied Lina.

"Bad pun..." was Gourry's answer.

"Oh, right, muck raking..." said Lina as she gave him a whap on the head. "You know I hate puns."

"Ow..." was Gourry's only reply.

A minute of silence followed. Then Gourry asked "Lina, is this how it was for you when you were growing up? I mean, why are you so afraid of your sister anyway?"

Lina nodded. "It was a combination of being the little annoyance that wouldn't go away fast enough, and the fact that I have the kind of personality that makes me snap back at anything. Every insult had to be avenged, and was. Only problem, Luna felt the same way, and being bigger, stronger, and smarter, she always won. And nasty, she can be nasty as well. Once, when I was, what, eight? Anyway, I upset her and in order to avenge herself she filled my bed with slugs when I was asleep. I woke up covered with the things, and since then I have been mortally afraid of them, as you know."

"Oh yes, I know..." chuckled Gourry

Lina went on "Usually she was mean and nasty and great at getting me embarassed, but there was the time I turned the tables. I've told you, I was twelve, and I figured out the shadow projection trick."

Oh yeah, that's the one where you projected her image for some guys while she was in the shower!" said Gourry, laughing now.

Lina cringed, and Gourry stopped. "Hey?" he asked.

"Yes, that's the incident, and for a short time life was wonderful. Luna was embarassed, and I was getting paid to do it too. I made good money actually. Then, of course, she found out..."

"Not so good..." said Gourry.

"She knew just where to hit, for how long, and how hard." said Lina. "No bruises to show mom and dad. I didn't get my wish and die, either. And worst of all..." Here Lina choked up and shuddered.

"She took your money." finished Gourry.

"Oh Gods! What a nightmare!" howled Lina as if it had just happened.

Gourry held her close and soothed her. "Here, will this help?" he asked. Lina looked up, and Gourry drew her into a long kiss.

Which, of course, is how they were discovered, by two of the most unlikely beings around.

"Oh! It's Miss Lina and Mr. Gourry!" enthused a voice.

Lina and Gourry disengaged with a little cry. It was impossible to tell if Lina or Gourry had emitted it...

Two figures stood shrouded in the dim light. They were human-like, but obviously not human. The hugh size of one, and the somewhat doglike profile of the other were among the dead giveaways...

In a flash Gourry was up, with his sword drawn.

Lina was just as quick. "Lighting!" she commanded, and an intense ball of light appeared in her hand, making their surroundings shine like day.

The two figures stepped back, blinking in fright, and surprise.

"H-hey, Miss Lina... it's just us, Gavos and Jilas..." said the smaller figure, timidly.

Lina blinked in surprise as she recognised the eye patched foxman and his companion. Then she laughed in relief. "Oi. You two. You startled us." she said. "But what brings you guys to Zephielia? Is Filia here? How is she? How's little Val? Has he hatched yet?" she asked.

There was an awkward silence.

"Hey?" she asked, quietly.

Jilas actually started to cry softly. Now Lina was worried. "Guys! What's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked in a worried voice as she turned off her spell, returning the world to darkness. She went over to her two friends. Gavos replied in a very sad voice. "Oh yes, Miss Lina, something most certainly did happen..."

He then explained to Lina and Gourry about the attack on Filia and the murder of Val. He apologised that Jilas and he didn't have much first hand information, the attack had been so violent they had both been blown out of a back door and had flown several feet before hitting the ground hard enough to knock them out. When they came to they found the shop in ruins.

They couldn't find any trace of Filia and Val. They asked questions and eventually they pieced this much together, that there had been an attack of some sort, and that the attackers, who were thought to be dragons by some of the witnesses, had knocked Filia out. Some had speculated that the attackers probably thought they had killed her, there was a lot of blood. They were then seen to smash something round and crystalline and burn whatever was in it.

"Round and crystalline?" asked Lina, fearing the worst.

"Yeah," said Gavos, choking on his words. "It was the egg, Val's egg."

He wept as he told of this.

Finally Jilas piped up. "Th- the boss eventually came to, and they say she was going to kill herself but some magical black robed priest came and took her away before she could. One guy said he though he overheard him talk to her about some master of the beasts who could help her with revenge, but he wasn't sure. Since then, we haven't seen her, not at all. We've been wanderin' around doin' odd jobs and looking for her, but nothing so far..." he concluded.

Lina was just stunned at the news. "N-no, this can't be, why? Why would they do it?" she asked, hugging Gourry and looking shocked. Then she said "Look, guys, come home with me. I might be able to get you some help okay? Have you eaten?"

"Er, not as well as we used to, not like six months ago when this all happened." one of them said.

"Six months? Odd, why haven't I heard anything in all this time?" said a puzzled Lina as she lead the way.

A short time later the group arrived home. Lina's father had found Luna so she was there waiting for her when she arrived. She immediately apologised as Lina walked in. "Sis, I am sorry, for what I said. As usual, it wasn't what I meant and it came out wrong, but I've hurt you, more than usual this time too. I hope you can forgive me, I really am sorry..." she said, bowing to her sister.

Lina did the only thing she could do. She went over and hugged Luna. "Hey, just lay off of Gourry okay? I figure I've earned your being upset with me, but he's going to take me away, okay? Then it'll be just you and mom and dad, and I'll just drop in for a visit now and again, okay?

Luna gasped as if she had been struck. "Oh Lina! You don't think that I...??" She turned away. "I guess I haven't been a good sister, have I?" she said softly.

There was an awkward silence. "N-no, but Luna, I haven't..." Lina stumbled.

"Who are your friends?" asked Ayn, to break the tension.

"Huh?" Oh! Yeah." said Lina, grateful to be called away from the awkwardness. Besides, the apologies and forgiveness had happened before, and nothing really changed, it seemed. She went on "Everyone, this is Gavos and Jilas. They are from the outer world, and we met on that silly adventure with Darkstar. They were working with Filia, you remember, the dragon priestess?"

"Of course, we remember." said Luna, smiling again. "How is she?"

With that, the tale was told yet again, to the disturbed wonder of all.

"A blacked robed priest, and a master of the beasts... I wonder..." said Luna softly.

After a silence Gourry put the pieces together, in his own way, of course.

"Say Lina, just who is this "Beast master" anyway?

Lina and Luna both jumped, and Ayn gasped. "NO!" the three of them said at the same time. They looked at each other, then Lina said, in a quiet voice. "Beastmaster Zellas-Metallium! And her black robed Priest, Xellos! Now it fits..."

"But why would they want that to happen to Filia?" asked Luna. I know they are randomly cruel, but still..."

There was a pause, then Ayn said, hesitantly, "It might not have been them. There is a great coil in the dragon world these days, as you know Lady Luna."

Luna gulped. When Ayn got formal she was being very serious.

The dark haired girl went on. "There is even talk of civil war in some corners. Somehow, I don't think the Mazoku were behind what happened to Miss Filia, but they wouldn't miss an opportunity. I wonder what they've done with her?"

"No good, that much is for sure." said Lina.

"I think we have a mission coming on." said Luna, sternly. Ayn nodded.

"I think we have something else too." That was Mother Inverse.

The girls looked at her, surprised.

"You two, you are always at each other, but it occurs to me that you never have done anything serious together. I'm your mother and I'm laying down the law. You are both going to find out what's happened to your dragon friend, and you're going to do it together. And that's before anyone get married, too. It'll be a wonderful opportunity for you both to see how the other lives and works, and maybe see a different side of each other."

"Hey??" said Lina and Luna in unison. "Us? Together?"

"Do you have a good reason why not?" said their father in a rather stern voice.

"And killing each other doesn't count..." added their mother, equally stern.

The girls looked at their parents and gulped. They looked very much like sisters at this point, alright. A pair of naughty sisters being chastised by their parents, in fact.

"N-no sir, ma-am..." they said, sealing their fate for the immediate future.

For some reason, Ayn wasn't even laughing, let alone making the most of this opportunity.

"Good, you can start at dawn then." said their dad.

"Where do we go first?" asked Luna, looking a bit stunned. "I don't think storming Wolfpack Island is the best approach."

"No, but it's not entirely the wrong idea. I suggest we walk to Seirune and use their magic library to read up on Beastmaster and a few other things." said Lina, thoughtfully. Luna nodded.

"Wow, there's a first, they both agree on something." chuckled Ayn, now sounding more like her usual self.

So, with that, and some more talking, the adventure was arranged. By now Spot had prepared the meal and everyone dug in. Well, what else could they do? After that there was more family talk and Luna and Lina even acted like sisters who liked each other.

At first Gavos and Jilas tried to be on company manners, but it quickly became apparent that the whole family dug in as a matter of course, even Spot. For a long while there was only the sound of eating, interupted from time to time by Lina and Gourry squabbling over who took what from which plate. Lina's mother smiled at her husband. "Remember when we used to fight over food like that?" she sighed in fond rememberance.

"Like it was, well, this morning, dear..." he replied (which it was...), helping himself to something on her plate. It never made it to his mouth though, the look she gave him made him put it back, and quickly...

Finally, it was off to bed for all, there was going to be an early start...

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(1) homepage3./QPHOUSE/gensaku2/spinoff4.html

NB: Kanzaka-sama wrote this! It's Canon!! 


	4. Chapter 4

The morning start was too early for some, as Lina had to be dragged, protesting, from her bed the next morning, the last one to get up. Gourry volunteered for that job and received the usual abuse as a reward...

Luna, on the other hand, seemed to be quite the morning person. She was the first one up, and making breakfast, a job she had done for the family ever since since she was old enough to do so. She enjoyed it, she had a very strong domestic streak. "Well, what have we gotten ourselves into?" she asked Lina, setting a cup of something strong, black, and bitter in front of her still sleepy sibling, then the rest of her family and their guests.

Lina groggily put her spoon in the middle of the cup, and when if fell to the side she said "It's not strong enough..."

"you always joke like that about my tea, Lina." said Luna. She looked thoughtful for a second then added "Have I ever told you I appreciate it?"

"No..." said Lina, clearly unsure what to make of Luna's statement.

Ayn entered from outside, bearing an enormous pile of firewood. "Oh. Let me help you." said Gourry, going to take some of the wood.

"Thanks, but I've got it." Ayn replied, taking the weight, impossibly, on one arm while she closed the door behind her before going to the wood box to dump her load off. Gourry could only stare at her, puzzled.

"What kind of morning is it?" asked Luna.

"Good. Flying weather even." said Ayn.

"Nah, I think we should walk at least one day." Luna replied, then added "Right, Lina?" Lina shrugged, still not fully awake.

A couple of minutes later that all changed. Luna brought the food to the table.

Finally, the meal came to an end. The sun had now fully risen and there were people bustling in the streets. It was high time to set off. Packed bags were slung onto backs, swords were sheathed, boots and cloaks donned, and final bits of advice were given. Then came the tender endearments as their mother hugged them.

"Don't be silly, my babies, together you are invincible, but you tend to be each other's worse enemy when you get going. For the life of me I can't figure out what the problem is, except that in so many ways you are so much alike. Indeed, Lina, when you were born you were so much like your big sister I couldn't help myself, it was almost as if you were a twin who forgot to show up the first time round, so I named you Lina because it was as close as I could get to Luna." She sighed. "If I upset either of you by doing that I am sorry." She gave them a rare sad look. "Luna, learn from this trip, okay? Your baby sister does just fine without being bullied. And Lina, learn from this trip as well. Your big sister really is a wonderful person, it's just that irresponsibility sets her off so. I know that sounds strange as she often acts that way herself in fun, but when it's serious..." The two girls gulped and promised to try their best.

"That's just what I'm afraid of..." said their mother. She then hugged Ayn. "You will have to be the mature one I think, Ayn. Keep my girls in line, okay?" she asked.

Ayn smiled warmly and hugged the older woman back. "Of course I will." she said softly. Then she turned with an evil smirk and gave a wicked laugh as she looked at the two sisters. "Hehe, hehe, hehe, you heard her, I have permission!"

"I don't think..." Lina started to say, a sweatdrop on her brow. "Yeah, yeah, well, we'll see..." said Luna, butting in, an even bigger sweatdrop on her brow.

She knew Ayn better...

"If you want to help Lina you'll help Ayn, okay?" said Mom as she hugged Gourry in his turn. "And thank you for making my baby so happy!" she added with her usual beautiful smile.

"Er, yeah, happy to help out..." said Gourry with a perplexed smile on his face.

"Don't worry about it, it's a "mother" thing." added Lina's dad with a pat on Gourry's shoulder.

"As if you don't think the same thing..." smiled Mom.

Finally Gavos and Jilas, who were going on the journey as well, each got hugged, and with that, the mission to rescue Filia finally got started. They left the house, waved a final goodbye, and turned towards Seirune.

They moved easily through the streets. There were a few stares, there were some called greetings, most to Luna and Ayn, but a few old friends of Lina's called out to her too. In fact a couple of girls even came up and seemed determined to pump Lina for all the information they could get about Gourry. It was hard to know if they were excited, or dissapointed, to learn he was Lina's fiance. "Oh! Lucky!" said one girl, while the other one looked at her own ample bosom, and Lina's rather more compact one, then gave Gourry a very puzzled look. But she wisely kept her mouth shut, Lina did have a reputation that was second only to Luna's...

The gang walked on. Luna and Lina exchanged rememberances as they passed familiar landmarks. The place Luna had cruelly dunked Lina in the horse trough for example. True, she had been demonstrating her new found talent for fireballs to her friends at the time, and threatening to to burn the town down, but still...

Of course, Lina had gotten her revenge, setting off a small explosion in a water fountain one morning as Luna was passing by it on her way to her very first day of work. Lina succeeded in soaking Luna's nice, clean, brand new waitress' uniform. It had taken her several weeks to recover, apparently...

Lina, that is...

In fact, it began to sound like most of the girls life together had been a sort of a merry war of rather violent one-up-man-ship. Gourry began to understand why Lina had freaked out so badly at the letter Luna had sent her on that day they first met, um, what's her name, the blonde chick they were going to rescue from, well, whoever it was she needed rescuing from...

"Ah, what memories youth is made of." said Ayn in her usual sarcastic tone.

"I remember makin' explosions as a lad" said Jilas, wonderingly, "but never so irresponsibly..."

"Oh. Ho, ho, ho, you want irresponsible do you?" said Luna. "Lina. why don't you tell everyone about Greenway point? Or should I say Deadwater Bay?"

"Oh, you just can't let up about that can you?" said a huffy Lina. "I mean, come on, I had to practice the Dragon Slave somewhere, I just never expected my first one to be so powerful." She shot a dark look at Luna then added "Look, how many times do I have to say I'm sorry I blew up that little peninsula and turned it into a bay? I was actually aiming off shore, but my aim was way off because the spell was stronger than I thought. And no, I don't know why fish won't live in that bay to this day..."

"Wasn't it shortly after that they gave you your colour?" asked an oh so innocent Ayn.

"GAH! I don't know which of you two is the worst!" shouted Lina in exasperation.

"Oh, come on, it suits you, you know. It's a lovely colour, and that robe they gave you, you really should wear it more, it's so, so, well, you..." Luna said, giggling unpleasantly.

"Huh?" said Gavos. Gourry just shrugged.

"What, you haven't heard of Lina the..."

"DON'T YOU SAY A WORD!!" shrieked a horrified Lina.

Luna sighed. "Sorry guys, I guess I can't tell you. But let me tell you about a little twelve year old girl who had a wonderful idea one day of how to use her big sister to make some money!" she went on, brightly.

"PINK! IT'S LINA THE PINK. AND IT'S A FRILLY FEMININE GOWN, DRESS, WHATEVER, THAT THEY MADE FOR ME BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT I WAS A CUTE LITTLE GIRL! AND TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, WHEN I GOT HOME IN IT LUNA HERE ASKED ME IF I WORKED IN A BAR AND SHE DIDN"T MEAN AS A WAITRESS EITHER..." shrieked a suddenly desperate Lina. "Big sister! How could you? You said you had forgiven me and that you weren't ever going to mention that, that, other incident again." cried Lina, tears of genuine pain coming to her eyes as she grabbed Luna's hand. "Please?" she asked imploringly.

Luna looked surprised, then smirked. "Well, but I never actually said anything, now did I? I only dropped a hint.Anyway, maybe we can modify that pink thing for a wedding dress and save mom and dad some money, you think?"

Lina's eyes continued to tear up. "I can afford my own dress, Luna. Don't be so cruel!" she sobbed.

"We seem to be off to a fine start..." said Gourry quietly, as he came over behind Lina and hugged her. "I see why you are so afraid of her." he added.

"Hmph! Don't let her fool you, Gourry, and don't encourage her like that." said a rather annoyed Luna. She seemed on the verge of saying something else, and from the look on her face it was going to be hurtful, but suddenly...

Luna found herself down on one knee, her sword hand twisted behind her. She was very rapidly and very definitely slapping the ground with her other hand to indicate she surrendered as she howled in sudden pain. Behind her, Ayn had suddenly grabbed her hand and pinched on a pressure point on Luna's wrist, with dramatic results. "Enough is enough!" she shouted at Luna. "Didn't you learn from last night? Didn't you hear your mother this morning? You're about to do it again! Now STOP IT!" she commanded.

Luna could only nod through her tears as Ayn let her take her hand back.

Lina looked stunned, blinking in shock through her own tears. No one had ever done that to Luna. No one! Then Ayn rounded on her and stuck her finger in Lina's face. "And you! Stop being such a CRYBABY! It only encourages her. Haven't you figured that out yet? OOOH! You, you're as bad as that blonde twit in that, that, Moon Princess story!" Lina fearfully sunk deeper into Gourry's arms.

Oh GODS! Not that...

"I-I'll try..."she promised, trembling.

"Please don't hurt Lina." said Gourry in a gentle voice that still somehow managed to convey a sense of threat.

Ayn relaxed, and calmed down. "I'm not going to hurt her," she said in a surprisingly gentle voice, "and I didn't mean to frighten her. I just want her to stop backing down when her sister bullies her, it doesn't help."

"That's probably true," said Gourry, tenderly, "but you just don't know how gentle and tender she is inside. I think she's perfect just as she is." Lina hugged him the closest yet.

Ayn sighed. "Well, you look after her, and I'll look after this one." she said, patting Luna, who was still nursing her wrist. Luna responded with a black look, but said nothing.

"Deal!" smiled Gourry.

Ayn turned to Gavos and Jilas. "Sorry, you two, we must be putting on quite the show..." she said.

"Oh well, we won't be bored on this trip, I suppose." smiled Jilas, trying to ease the tension.

There was a general forced laugh and the group pulled itself together again and walked on. Soon they left the gates of the town behind them and were heading south to Seirune.

The day was actually quite pleasant after that. Both sisters, perhaps shocked into good behaviour by Ayn's standing up to Lina and Luna, actually got along pleasantly. Now, intead of horror stories they talked about everything from their favourite dolls as children to telling bits of their own adventures. They even compared notes on various characters they had met in common. Xellos seemed to have a large share of that.

"I never knew Xellos had such an abiding interest in the Inverse family." remarked Lina at one point.

"Well, it isn't every generation where you find the most powerful swordsman, sorry Gourry, and the most powerful sorceress in the same family. Even rarer to have them be each other's sister. That's got to have them worried that there's something special about us. I'll bet Xellos was keeping an eye on you for years before he actually let you make contact with him, all lying tales about the Claire bible to the contrary." replied Luna.

"Eh? He, he, so, you finally admit I'm the best then, do you?" giggled Lina, secretly thrilled that Luna had actually praised her.

Luna smiled back and said "Well, it's either you, or the snake woman..."

Lina shuddered. "Don't remind me..." she said.

"Uh, we're not from around here, who's this snake woman?" asked Jilas innocently.

"OOOOOHHHH! Don't you get me started." said Lina with a nasty, superior edge to her voice.

"Why not? Truth is, we actually do have all day." said Ayn.

"Okay." said Lina, warming up to the task. She then launched into a rather long monologue about her one time partner and self professed rival, one Naga the Serpent. By the time she was done Jilas and Gavos were very scared and hoped fervently to never meet such an atrocious person, Ayn and Luna were laughing nastily at various parts of Lina's descriptions of the woman, and Gourry, well, he was listening to something else.

His stomach.

"Oi Lina, isn't it just about lunch time?" he asked.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble...

Gourry grabbed his stomach and looked embarased. Lina likewise blushed and started to apologise. Luna did exactly the same thing, it was almost as if the two girls were syncronized. Jilas and Gavos just looked at each other...

"Actually", said Ayn,with a nasty little laugh, and sounding rather proud of herself, "that was me, and Gourry's right, it's time to eat!"

Gourry looked relieved, Lina giggled nervously, and Luna gave Ayn an exasperated look. Jilas and Gavos just looked at each other...

Then another rumble sounded out. "Yeah, we got the point the first time." said Luna with a sigh.

"Of course you did!" enthused Ayn. "Only that was you this time..."

"Wha...?? N-no way!" insisted Luna, but the blush on her face was too red to miss, causing Ayn to laugh even more nastily.

Jilas and Gavos just looked at each other...

"Are we close to a restaurant?" asked Lina, trying to break the mood.

"Nearest one's at least another few hours away, I recon." replied Ayn. "How about we just picnic on what's in our packs?"

"Hey, is there a river nearby?" asked Gourry. "Lina's got this great fishing spell!"

"Yeah, but freshwater sashimi just doesn't taste the same." teased Luna.

"So, you starve and we'll eat, to each her own." smirked Ayn, cutting off anything Lina might have said. Then she added "I think we are a mile or so from a little bridge, that might be a great spot to eat, fish or no fish, if we are able to bear up under our crushing hunger till we get there."

"Oh, yeah! Don't remind me of that!" put in Gourry. Then with Lina's corrections, er, help, he recounted the tale of the long and unexpected sea voyage he had taken with Lina on their first trip to the outer world. How they had accidentally launched themselves when Filia had attacked the fleet to test Lina. How they had drifted for many days with no food whatsoever. Finally, how they made landfall, just in time to let their intense search for food interfere with Gavos and Jilas' attempt to terrorise and extort the village they had just stumbled into. At that, Ayn shot a quizzical, and dangerous look at them.

They both managed to tremble, and Jilas blurted out "We got better..."

"Yeah, yeah, they're good guys now." said Lina. Ayn just chuckled.

"Oh, she's just messing with them, don't worry about it." giggled Luna.

"We're here." said Gourry, pointing to the low little bridge in front of them, crossing a quiet little stream.

"Okay! Gourry! Get the firewood, and I'll get at the stream." said Lina with enthusiasm as she took out a fishing line and a hook from somewhere in her cloak. "Oh, and cut me a pole please." she added. In an instant Gourry had his trusted sword, the magically sharp Blast Blade out. The first thing he did was cut a sapling for Lina's pole and then he went to work with a will and by the time Lina had tied her line to the pole, cast her spell, and then put her hook into the water, and snagged the first fish, the first load of wood was being carried back by Gavos as Gourry loaded up Jilas..

"They have this down to an artform!" said an impressed Luna.

"Practice, I imagine." nodded Ayn, equally impressed.

Luna rumaged around and produced a flint and steel and prepared to start the fire. "Hmmm, kindling." she said out loud, though she was talking to herself.

"Hey, Lina's got that covered, don't worry about it." said Gourry as he arrived with his own load of firewood, along with a few twigs he'd cut for skewers, and started to lay out the fire.

Luna looked puzzled, cocked an eye at Gourry, and put her fire starter away. A few minutes later the mystery was solved as Lina staggered up with a tremendous catch. She put the fish on the grass, muttered another spell, and popped an amazingly well controlled tiny fireball into the wood Gourry had set up. There was a whoosh, and the fire was blazing merrily, at full force.

"Dig in." she said matter of factly, as she grabbed a skewer and impaled some fish on it, then started cooking them.

"How come you never do that?" Luna asked Ayn, sounding slightly peeved, and pointing at the fire.

"You must be joking." answered Ayn flatly. With that the two women joined the other four travelers around the fire.

Between the fish and the packed food they actually had a good picnic.

And after that, naps all around...

"Nothing like traveling in the heat of the day." remarked Luna as they set out again in the early afternoon, having avoided just the that, the hottest part of the day.

"Works when you're in a hurry." said Lina. "But it sucks being that hot..."

There was a general agreement from the group, as they treked onwards.

There was the afternoon, the evening, the cool of the evening, and finally the chill of the night before they made the village they were walking towards. There was a bit of a protest in the small inn they decended upon and some talk of closing, but Luna, to Lina's shock, simply dumped a small fortune in gold on the counter and it was amazing how awake the staff became. "Food till we burst, then rooms all around, please." she said.

"Er, I regret to tell you we only have two rooms to let out tonight." said a sweatdropping inn keeper, obviously fearing letting such well paying clients get away.

"Well, then one room for those of us that are women, and one room for those of us who aren't." said Ayn, acting like she was explaining things as simply as possible.

"Oh? and which room are you sleeping in?" asked Luna, apparently seriously.

"Ya wanna get biffed up the hooter now, or after we've eaten?" replied Ayn...

"Wow, how do you get away with that" asked Lina, perplexed, and just possibly admiringly...

"Hey, Lina..." complained Luna as Ayn snorted a chuckle.

Lina cringed and sweatdropped. "S-sorry, big sister, that didn't come out right..."

"Oh yes it did..." said Luna quietly, and a little dangerously.

Lina gulped and backed off and Ayn asked Luna "What do you want to drink?" She gently took Luna's hand as she asked.

Luna looked down and sighed. "You won't need to pinch my wrist again, Ayn, I'm not going there. I was just trying to tease Lina."

"But did Lina know that?" Ayn asked, quietly. Then she repeated her question about the drinks.

"Zefeilian brandy, of course." replied Luna. "A good squire would know that."

"Doesn't mean a good squire would presume to know what her Mistress liked at any particular moment, though." replied Ayn. "Besides, that only applies to good squires..." she smirked.

"Ain't that the truth." giggled Luna, rolling her eyes.

"You better not be serious about that..." said Ayn.

"Only one way to find out." said Luna, smiling evily.

"Right, will that be one keg, or two?" asked Ayn.

Lina walked away at that point. She she found herself wondering yet again just what was the nature of the relationship between Luna and Ayn. Oh well, that was their business, right now, she wanted to work on her own relationship. So thinking, she walked over and sat beside Gourry, who had already plunked himself down at a table, waiting for supper.

"Are we hopeless or what?" she asked.

"No, I think we are full of hope." said Gourry, with a big smile. "We are like any young couple on the verge of starting out, well, of course most young couples don't have to go on adventures before they get married, getting married is the adventure for them but still..."

"I meant Luna and me." said Lina, butting in before Gourry got too far off on his tangent. "I already know you and I are totally beyond hope..." she added with a giggle.

Gourry chuckled and put his arm around Lina. She sighed happily and settled in.

"Hey Lina, what would our friends say, seeing us so open with our feelings? All those years of being so private, and I think I've hugged you more times in public since yesterday that in all the times before that since I met you." Gourry asked gently.

"Well, if they know what's good for 'em they wouldn't say anything nasty..." chuckled Lina, not altogether pleasantly.

"Do you think they'll ever find anyone?" asked Gourry. "I mean all this time and they don't seem to have moved on in their relationships." he further observed.

Lina thought a bit before answering. "Well, I'm not sure if that's true, but let's see. Amilia loves Zel, of that I'm sure, and I think he returns her affection though he's harder to read. But she's always busy with the job of becoming Queen, and he's usually away questing after his cure, so they don't have the together time that most people need to really develop an abiding love. And I don't know, there is something about Zel, I don't think he'll really be ready before he gets his cure. I hope Amilia is ready to wait a long time."

She thought some more. "Sylphiel has really thrown herself into the white magic ever since we got done with Hell Master. I don't know, I think it started as a way of getting over you, as if anyone ever could, he, he, and I think that since then it's become habit. I doubt she'll ever get married now, she just seems too busy with her magic."

She "hmmm'd" then went on "Of course, not everyone we know is still single, I hear Zangulas and Martina are working on their third child..."

"Oh well, everyone will do what they must I suppose. Even Ayn and my sister..." she finished, as the latter two showed up with drinks all around, finally. Jillas and Gavos showed up from wherever they had gotten off to as well, presumably the little non human's room...

"Ayn and your sister what?" asked Luna a little suspiciously.

Lina hemmed but Gourry, amazingly, had an answer. "Have their good side!" he said, brightly.

Ayn frowned, "Hey! Now that's a vicious lie!" she snapped. "Oh sure, little Miss Browny-locks here is chocked full of such stuff, but I am pure evil and don't you forget it!" She declaimed heartily.

"Hey?" said Luna, a bit shocked.

"Well, if you're pure, isn't that good?" asked Gourry, innocently.

Ayn stepped back, grabbed her chest and hammed it up as if she had been stabbed."ACK! ACKACKACK! Straight to the heart! Oh you're good, Mr. Gourry!" she laughed. Luna and Lina laughed till they had tears.

"Wow! Way to answer her back, Gourry, my dear!" said Luna still giggling. "That's a rare enough occurance!"

Gavos and Jilas just looked at each other, then sighed. "D'ya get th' feeling we are out of the loop?" Jilas asked. Gavos nodded.

However, supper arrived very soon thereafter, and all was forgotten under the serious business of depleting the inn of all it's consumable stores.

And after that, bed, with the promise of a too early wake up call. Naturally the girls got one room and the guys got the other. They guys did "rock, paper, scissors" and Gourry managed to get the floor. Being tired, and also full, the men did what men have always done, they conked out and were soon asleep.

In the girls room, much the same thing happened, only with more talking and carrying on. Eventually, after a lot of brave volunteering, of each other, Ayn drew the floor, and made her displeasure known by taking most of the bedding to make a slightly softer place to sleep. Luna and Lina snuggled in under the remaining thin sheet.

"I, uh, don't mind the floor, really." said Lina. After the fact, of course. "I've done it lots of times with Gourry, in our travels. In fact, more than once, we've both slept on the floor on opposite sides of the same bed."

"Well, that's puzzling." said Luna. "If you've done it with Gourry, wouldn't it have been more comfortable in the bed?"

Lina sat up. "What are you saying?" she asked, a horrified tone in her voice.

"Just what you are afraid of, that you and Gourry jumped the queue and are already man and wife. But she's teasing, or she better be." said Ayn.

"Oh way to spoil things." pouted Luna.

"Hey, I'm a virgin!" declared Lina.

"I believe you." replied Luna. "And I'm sorry, but you left yourself so wide open that I couldn't help myself. My naughty nature got the better of me and I yielded to the temptation to tease you. But let me give you a bit of advice. The tradition goes that you don't have to put a whole bed between you to maintain your purity, just a sword. You can either stick it in the ground so that it is there like a pillar between you two, one you presumably won't roll over in your sleep, or if you are really light sleepers, you can just place it lying down on the ground between you, and presumably as you roll over, you'll feel it and stop. I suppose the inn keeper won't like a hole in his bed, but atleast you can both sleep on the mattress."

Lina sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, I did set myself up. But it is true we have slept like that. It is also true that we've slept in each other's arms, for warmth, and yes, for comfort, but I really mean it, Gourry is a perfect gentleman, and he has never ever tried to take advantage of me. Well, the occasional kiss, maybe. But I've also willingly given him some of those, so I suppose it's to be expected."

Luna gave a sisterly chuckle and hugged Lina. "Well, I suspected as much, but it's good to have a chat like this. You know what Lina? Mom was right, we need to do more things together like this. Playing together as little girls never let us see the deeper side of each other."

Lina hugged back "Do you know how wonderful it feels to have your sister hug you?" she asked, quietly.

"Yes." replied Luna, just as quietly.

"Hey love birds! Get a hotel room. Some of us want to sleep." cut in Ayn, sleepily, from the floor.

"Idiot..." muttered Luna.

Yeah, yeah, I know, early start..." said Lina, suddenly remembering why they had gone to bed. A few yawns later, and some giggles, just because, and the three women joined the three men in the world of dreams. 


	5. Chapter 5

Several days later found the little group of wanderers over the border and inside Seirune. The trip had gone rather well, all things considered. The two sisters seemed to be slowly opening up to each other, and most of the walk had been pleasant, though there were still rough moments when Ayn had needed to wag her finger in one face or the other. Sometimes even both.

On this particular day, for example, Luna tried to stand upon her "dignity" and inform Ayn that squires didn't treat their knights like this.

Ayn pointed out, with just as much "dignity" that her very first loyalty was to Ceiphied, not Luna, second, that while Luna may have fooled her town, her family, and even herself into believing that she was just the greatest thing going until someone invented a bread slicer, Ayn was well aware that Luna's behaviour was unworthy of a knight, thus, Luna was forcing Ayn to defend both Ceiphied's, and "the Knight's", reputation from Luna herself, and thirdly, that both she and Lina were worthy of better treatment from each other than they were giving, and getting. After all, Ayn had sisters too, and knew that sisters didn't treat each other the way Lina and Luna did.

Oh, and lastly, Luna's mom had given her permission...

Luna had been rather humbled by that and had become silent for awhile. Finally she sighed "Yeah, I can't get around mom..."

Ayn buried her face in her hands. "You... really weren't listening, were you?" she asked.

"It's gonna rain." announced Gourry, breaking the tension.

And so it was. The sunny sky they had started under earlier had darkened noticably and there was a low, distant rumble in the distance as Gourry spoke.

"So much for th' fireworks..." smirked Jilas. "Shhh, they'll hear you..." returned Gavos, also smirking, but with a cautious glance at the two sisters.

The immediate problem was where to shelter. They were crossing through open country, following the road past extensive farmers fields, and pastures. There were no farmhouses or barns nearby to shelter in.

"Well, what about the castle?" asked Gourry, pointing out a ramshackle old keep a little way off, that the road ran past.

"Wow, does anyone live there?" asked Jilas.

As if in answer to his question, a little puff of smoke began to rise from some chimney somewhere in the building.

"Home, and putting the kettle on to welcome us!" said Lina with a laugh.

"Ah, one of the advantages of being a world famous sorcery genius, no doubt?" asked her sister, giving Lina a smile.

"That's world famous BEAUTIFUL sorcery genius!" corrected Gourry.

"He's well trained..." said Ayn, giving Lina a wink.

"And don't think I didn't have to work for it." replied Lina with a smug grin. "But you know how it goes, monsters, treasure, enemies, and even jellyfish, victory will be mine!" she exulted, flashing a victory sign.

"Eh, yeah, yeah, we get it..." said Luna, with a bit of a sweatdrop...

The group moved on, going downhill into a dip in the road where it crossed a small swampy stream. There was a small grove of trees right around the bridge itself. The clouds were darker, and the thunder rumbled, closer now, and more ominous.

"Listen to that storm." commented Lina. She looked over to Gourry. She realised that he was listening to something else. "What's up?" she asked.

"Hey Lina." he said in a matter of fact voice. "We got bandits..."

The eyes of the three women lit up so much the shine was almost blinding. "We do too..." Lina said, an evil sort of happiness in her voice.

Luna smiled nastily and said "I knew there'd be some fun on this trip..."

Ayn nodded happily. "But let's try to get it over with before the rain comes." she added.

Picking up on this, Gourry fell back with Gavos and Jilas and said "Maybe we'll sit this one out and let the girls have their fun, okay?" The other two nodded, rather thankful they didn't have to run the risk of fighting.

Lina loaded a fireball for instant action and Luna slid her sword a few inches forward in it's sheath. She then wrapped her cloak around herself to conceal it until the opportune moment.

Ayn took a different tactic. After concentrating for a second or two she suddenly came all over feminine. Indeed, she could have made the white priestess Sylphiel, famous for her femininity as much as for her magic, look downright manly. Lina had never seen this act before and could only stare open mouthed. Luna smirked, and just stood ready.

Ayn suddenly pranced on ahead like a carefree young girl. "Oh what a wonder filled day, everyone!" she enthused. "Just look! Rocks, cheeky squirrels, happy little trees, pretty birds. Oh, what a wonderful morning! It was just made for delicate and unsullied maidens such as we! I declare that there's nothing that could spoil this day, not even that pretty little thunderstorm that's approaching with all the pretty lightning!"

Of course, you just don't give bandits an opening line like that, at least, not in the Slayers world you don't, and not expect a response...

There was a crash and several rude and rather unwashed characters stumbled on to the path in front of her. "Ha, ha! We're the Bats out of Hell! We're here to prove you pretty wrong little lady! Stand and deliver!"

The threat, and bad pun, were courtesy of the apparent leader, a short, scrawny guy whom Ayn must have towered over by about a foot. At least...

The irony of his phrase "little lady" wasn't lost on anyone, except maybe the bandits themselves.

Lina decided that Ayn was laying it on with a trowel and decided to show her how to take a more delicate approach. "Oh, EEK! Bandits! Oh won't someone save us? Oh what a cruel, wicked world it is when three rich sisters can't walk unmolested on the road! It's not fair!" As she cried out she brought the fist hiding the fireball up to her forehead and did her best to look the part of a little girl about to swoon. Well, it did hide the fact that she was aiming...

Luna, not to be out done, bunched up her fists, put them in front of her mouth, mostly to hide the wicked grin, and started wailing "Oh no, oh no! We are all just young maidens! Please, please, you bad men, don't hurt us!"

In the background, apparently still unseen by the robbers, Gavos, and Jilas exchanged looks."And I thought I'd seen ham acting before." said the one. The other replied "The worst part is, the bandits seem to be buying into it."

Gourry, for his part, just stood there, arms folded over his chest. He seemed unmoved by it all, except he did frown a bit about the maiden thing. He could see the looks the bandits suddenly gave the girls. Well, just let them try anything like THAT!

One of the bandits made a grab for Ayn. She responded by immediately hitting out at her attacker with a flurry of little slaps such as a delicate maiden might make. However, from the way that the would be bandit was obviously getting pummeled to the accompaning staccato of the blows, it was quickly clear that Ayn, maiden or not, was anything but delicate. And her screams of mock terror seemed, well, too lusty and full of enjoyment somehow.

Lina kept dancing around, semi-swooning, looking for an opening to toss the fireball, but the bandit gang was all clustered around Ayn, trying to rescue their comrades.

"Lina! Just toss the fireball! Hurry!" shouted Luna.

"B-but I'll hit Ayn!" Lina replied.

"That's the point!" returned Luna, desperation in her voice. "If you don't stop her, she's going to hog all the fun!"

Lina stopped and stared at Luna, open mouthed. "Uh, yeah..." she finally said. "I should have realised that by the fact it was you talking..." she said, a rather large sweatdrop forming on her forehead.

By now Luna was really desperate. She flipped her cloak back and grasped her sword. "To heck with it, here I come!" she shouted.

"I'm throwing, I'm throwing!" shrieked an equally desperate sounding Lina, cocking her arm back and letting the fireball grow to full power.

Then...

"Oh, what a world we are forced to live in, where the strong brazenly prey upon the weak, and use them for their own ends, rather than protecting them, and treating them with the respect they deserve."

Everything came to a stop. No one had seen him coming, but there, on the other side of the bridge, was the speaker. And what a speaker...

He was tall, well built, the obligatory rugged good looks, strong chin, and all that, of course, and a long, full tumble of golden blond hair. His face was slightly hidden by the dimming light, and Lina, letting the fireball fizzle out (it was starting to burn, after all) couldn't resist a quick glance back to reassure herself that Gourry hadn't decided to "help out".

Amazingly, it was a whole few seconds later that it occured to her that this was hardly Gourry's style in opening lines...

For his part, Gourry gave Lina a puzzled look, then said to Gavos and Jilas "It's time we made an appearance ..." The three of them shuffled forwards.

The bandit leader stood forward to meet the new intruder. "H-hey you... This is a stickup! S-stand and deliver..."

The newcomer sighed and then walked forwards. Lina gulped. She knew that face! Now, if only she could remember the name...

The stranger ignored the bandit leader, walked over to Ayn, took her hand, and gently but definitely removed her grip from the bandit she had been holding. "If you must punish the shortlives you should remember that gentleness is the key. Like so." With that, he reached over and cracked his finger against the man's skull. The bandit fell to the ground, stunned.

With that, the other bandits definitely got the message and, without further ado, took off as fast as they could run.

Luna and Lina looked on in stunned silence. That speech about the strong respecting the weak was meant for them?? "Who does he think he is?" muttered Luna. "I know him, but it isn't coming back..." replied Lina, helplessly.

Ayn, who seemed to have been the most flustered of all, suddenly came back to life. "Hey you! Worm! Waddya mean by this? How I treat a gang of bandits who attacked first is my business. A -a-and l-let go of m-me..." she stuttered at the end, taking her hand back, and, strangely, blushing slightly.

"Ho, Ho!" said Luna, with an outright grin on her face as she walked over to meet the stranger.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" snarled Ayn, trying hard not to blush, and thus succeeding in blushing all the harder.

"He is handsome, isn't he?" Luna smirked in reply.

"I don't know what you're implying, Lady Luna, but you're just plain mean!" fumed Ayn as she turned away, positively glowing now.

"It means that the tables have finally turned in my favor again!" announced a triumphant Luna.

"H-hey?" sweatdropped Lina, not understanding what was going on.

The stranger seemed unperturbed by all the commotion. He bowed and said "Well met, the sisters Inverse. Lady Luna. And you, Lina. I see you were able to use what the Claire bible had to teach you very profitably. Congratulations on your defeat of Hellmaster."

With the mention of the Claire bible the light went on for Lina. "Milgasa! Of course, Milgasa. Thanks, yes, the Claire bible was quite helpful in that little adventure, though it did take a well placed Giga Slave to end it all."

"Right into his face, if I remember your account correctly." smirked Luna.

"Er, yeah!" said Lina, sounding happy about it. But her smile looked a bit forced...

"I thought you cast it on yourself?" asked Gourry, as he finally arrived with the other two travellers.

"What? Eh... N-no, no, Gourry, you yoghurt brained jellyfish! That's not how it went at all! Gee, d-do you have to get everything wrong?" responded Lina angrily.

Gourry looked puzzled. "But I thought..." he started to say.

"Well, you're wrong!" replied a redfaced Lina, cutting him off.

Luna frowned. "Is he?" she asked. Then, in a no nonsense tone she said "Lina! Have you lied to us? What's the truth here?"

Everyone took an involuntary step backwards. When Luna was in her serious mode she was someone you simply didn't trifle with...

"I-I, it, I, Ohhhhh, this was what I was trying to avoid..." said Lina, sounding upset. "Forgive me Luna, I did change some details, I just didn't want to upset you, or mommy, or daddy. Alright, I'll tell you the truth, but please don't go upsetting our parents by telling them."

"I'll decide that when I hear the truth." said Luna, sternly.

"The part all the way up to the last confrontation is true." said Lina, quietly, while sweatdropping. "What I changed was this. I did cast the Giga Slave on myself, and after that I remember nothing until I woke up on top of a shattered archway with Gourry looking like he was about to kiss me or something. So, so, I decked him, complaining that I was a pure innocent maiden. It was later I found out from some other people who had been there as well that the Lord of Nighmares herself had taken over my body and had defeated HellMaster directly. She did it because I had willingly sacrificed myself to her to protect Gourry. And because Phibrizzo had been dumb enough to attack her..."

"Apparently she said at some point that I, the real me that lives inside this body, had been absorbed into the void. Then, she dissappeared into the sea of Chaos. But Gourry somehow was able to follow. No one knows what happened in there, but suddenly we were back, like I said. I'm s-sorry I didn't say the truth, Luna, I didn't want mommy and daddy to be upset. Please, please don't tell."

By now Luna's mouth was hanging open in shock. After several attempts she finally was able to say "Y-you did what??" then with a little scream, her legs buckled and she sat down heavily, shaking with emotion.

Lina went over to help her up. Luna got up, then slapped Lina across the face, then grabbed her into a big, tight hug, and burst into a torrent of tears. When she could finally speak she gulped "I-I almost lost my sister? Oh Lina! I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you. How could you be so stupid? How could you be so brave? Why didn't you send for me? I would have come. Oh, oh, oh, I thank all the holy powers you are alive..."

"Th-this is why I changed the story..." sobbed Lina, hugging her sister back. "I-I'm sorry Luna, but, he was going to hurt Gourry, and I had to stop him. I had no time to get help. There was no other way. I didn't know to call it love back then, but the truth was, and still is, that I'd die for Gourry if I had to."

"L-L-Lina!" said Gourry, joining in finally. "No, not that, you have to live!" He came up and hugged Lina as best he could from behind while Luna continued to hold her from the front.

"Well, so do you!" said Lina, through her tears.

Milgasa cocked a curious eye at Lina and Gourry and turned toward Ayn, who had gotten over her little snit and rejoined the group.

"He pulled her back from the sea of Chaos, from the Lord of Nightmares herself? Is that even possible?" he asked, a note of awe in his voice.

Ayn nodded. "If the Golden Lady allows it, anything is possible. Amazing!"

She went over to Lina and Gourry. Speaking softly, and with obvious respect in her voice, she said "Listen you two, you have been blessed. The Golden Lady rescued you, Gourry, because Lina's love for you was true, and she gave you back to him, Lina, because he proved his love was just as true by following you into the sea of Chaos and doing whatever he had to do there to get you back. I know this much though. Gourry would never have gotten into the sea of Chaos unless the Lord of Nightmares herself allowed it. Gourry's near death was your test, Lina, and Lina's near disappearance was yours, Gourry. I am in deep awe, you two are amazing!"

Luna let go of Lina. For a long time she could only stare at the couple. Finally she spoke, with a strange quaver in her voice. "Th-thank you Gourry, for getting Lina back. I always felt you were the right one, I just never knew how right..." She turned away, shivering.

Ayn went over and hugged her trembling Mistress. "Hey, you okay?" she asked.

Luna nodded. "M-my little sister walks with god. What can I say?" she said. "I'm just overwhelmed..."

"Um, with all respect where due an' all that, would this be th' right time to point out that it is raining?" said a somewhat nervous Jilas.

And so it was. Fairly hard, too. With that, the gang pulled itself together and rapidly crossed the distance to the gate of the keep. Once there they asked for shelter from the storm, which was granted freely, as per the customs handed down from the days of old.

In the keep they were admitted to the main hall and were able to find places around the big roaring fire in the middle of the room. There were a few other odd travelers there as well, all huddled around at various distances as suited their desire for warmth,and with all the drying clothes and what not the room was a bit steamy. There was no food, to Lina's disappointment, but the host did have his servants make sure a hot cup of tea was available to all who wanted it.

Gourry and Lina sat side by side, and Luna sat next to them. Gavos and Jilas were on the other side of Gourry. Ayn didn't know how Luna did it, but somehow she ended up with Milgasa next to her, forcing Ayn to sit to the outside, which meant she had to lean in to Milgasa to talk to anyone. Of course, this made it impossible to ignore him without being very rude.

She was so going to have words with Luna, later...

Of course, it would help if she didn't feel so, well, strangely flustered next to him. Damned emotions...

Well, at least she could blame the firelight if anyone thought she looked a little red...

Lina, after getting congratulations from Milgasa for her happy news, and explaining about Fila, asked Milgasa what the news of the world was.

"Yes, odd, actually." replied the golden dragon, frowning slightly. "No, worse than that, I'm afraid." he then said.

He sighed then said "There is trouble in the dragon world, I'm afraid. Old issues exist between the various races. Much of this goes back as far as the second War of the Monster's Fall. Let's face it, the dragons didn't do too well. Because of that, accusations of betrayal and even treason have been deeply ingrained since then, and the various races have had a deep distrust of each other as a result. We've been trying to handle these problems by using peaceful means. The Great Council of All Dragons was supposed to provide a neutral legal body to allow grievances to be dealt with without resorting to war, but they have become mired down in partisan politics, and after their last meeting, or should I say fight, they have dissolved, probably for good. The only thing that has held back war so far has been the intense intervention of the Holy Priestesses of Ceiphied, but it won't last long."

"No?" asked a puzzled Ayn. "I had heard that they had been calming things down..."

Milgasa nodded. "They were, until about six weeks ago, when the Destroying Angel (1) appeared."

There was silence, the whole room was listening now. Then Lina asked, quietly, "Who?"

"We don't know who she is, we aren't even quite sure it's a woman, we actually only have one eyewitness account, and that was from a human child who saw one of the first attacks, and seems to have been overlooked in the aftermath. He had stumbled on a family of black dragons having the dragon equivalent of a picnic and being a little child he stayed to watch. They seem to have been having innocent, family fun when an armoured being, about the size and shape of a human female, decended from the sky with a battle scream and proceeded to kill them all with what was probably a big mace, or maybe a battle axe. Then she, or it, laughed in a horrible way and danced among the corpses, covering itself with gore and blood, until another creature, looking like a human man in black clothes appeared and took it, or her, away. The child was too traumatized to be any clearer, or remember if anything was said. We have our suspicions, of course, but no positive proof as to who we are dealing with. But the slayer killed men, women, children, and even unhatched eggs. And since that incident she has struck repeatedly, leaving no more survivors." Milgasa stopped, he seemed on the verge of sobbing.

"H-hey..." said Ayn, quietly, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder. She then went on to the group "It's been too long since I've had news about the dragon world from my order, I wonder why I haven't heard about this?" She pondered on this.

"Order?" asked Lina.

"Of course, silly, squires for Ceiphied's knight have to be trained. They don't come straight from the Chaos, that's reserved for their little sisters! Didn't you know that?" teased Luna.

"No, actually." replied Lina.

Luna gave her a puzzled look. "Oh." she said.

"Is that why you are here?" Ayn asked Milgasa.

He nodded. "I was on my way to Seirune to consult with the oracle of the white priestesses when this storm happened, causing me to land. As I decended I saw you, and the others, having at those poor bandits so I decided to step in on their behalf while they still had a chance to survive, and repent."

"Spoilsport..." hmmphed Ayn, which got a cocked eyebrow from Milgasa, and a smirk from Luna.

Milgasa turned to Gavos and Jilas. "Tell me again." he said to them. "You said that your Miss Filia was attacked by a dragon?"

"More like three." replied Gavos.

"They did give her some sort o' paper she read." added Jilas. He then said "I was jus" comin' into the room, an' the boss said somethin' like "Th' Grand Council O' all Dragons?" to the gentlemen, an' then all hell broke loose, an' then there were this great flash o' light, then blackness, then the stuff that happened when we woke up..."

He thought for a bit, then asked. "D' you think it was them? The "Angel o' Death" thingy what attacked the Miss?"

Milgasa pondered. "Not impossible." he said finally. "It's Destroying Angel, by the way. Who, or what, ever is doing it uses the same mode of operation, so we have tentatively assumed it was the one creature the witness reported, but it has occurred to us that there might be a team. But why only one, now, and they used three against Miss Filia?" he asked in a puzzled tone. "And why the four and a half month delay between the attacks? I suspect your Miss Filia was an unrelated attack, unless this is some sort of trickle down effect. A mystery all around."

Ayn mused. "I wonder about that black clothed man. I wonder if they were robes? Filia was most likely taken by Xellos, we feel, and only the Golden Lady knows what happened to her after that."

"Wasn't Filia's favourite weapon a mace?" asked Lina, with concern in her eyes. "You don't suppose...?"

"I have a hard time believing any dragon would do that, even one as cruelly used as Filia seems to have been. But actually, most dragon women use some sort of mace like weapon, just like most dragon men use swords." Ayn replied. "We'll have to wait and see, but I don't think Miss Filia would be the Destroying Angel."

"Well, that's a relief..." sighed Lina. But she still looked uncertain.

"Well, whatever," said Luna, "but there's no point speculating now, we will just end up going in little circles based on a lack of information."

The rest of the group nodded accent to that, and the talk turned to other things.

Soon enough it was time for supper. The host begged off, claiming a lack of supplies to feed so many, and with some grumbling the various guests dug into their packs and prepared to make whatever meager meals they could. Apparently, the old customs of hospitality went only so far these days...

Some made skewers and roasted various bits of edible things, a few put pots or pans near the fire to cook in, but most settled for a cold meal. Luna proved her domestic ability by pulling a few sandwiches out of somewhere, and except for a squabble with Ayn about the right amount of mustard on one of the sandwiches, the gang had a light enough meal, but it did take the edge off everyones hunger.

Well, with one exception, of course...

"No fair, I'm still starving." Lina whined, rather annoyingly. Gourry tried to distract her with the prospect of an endless breakfast at the first inn they found in the morning, but that only made matters worse, of course.

"We're all still hungry, sis." said Luna. "What to do? You could always go fishing by that little slough where we met those bandits, if you don't mind the storm. If you can hold on, it sounds like it should be over soon..."

"It just seems so unfair..." pouted Lina. "Well, what can we do to distract ourselves then?" she asked.

"How about a story?" said someone. "Or a song?"

After a general buzz one of the guests started in on a story about some poor dude who fell into a magic pond. Apparently he got cursed so that when he got splashed with hot water he turned into a girl, and when he was splashed with cold water he became a man again. Or was it the other way around? It wasn't the best, but it distracted. After that there was a bit of a singsong, and after that, even Lina had to admit the hunger was down to a dull roar. Then the host came in and informed his guests the rain had stopped and the sky was clearing up.

With that, the other guests, who were all local residents gave their thanks and went out to finish going about their business. The little group, was grudgingly allowed to sleep in the hall for the night. Luna gave thanks, as was proper, but the sarcastic posture of her body made it plain that she'd as soon deck the jerk as thank him.

The next order of business was the sleeping arrangements. The girls ended up on one side of the fire, and the guys on the other. As before, the guys settled to sleep fairly quickly, but the girls had make it complicated...

Well, mostly it was Luna. She had managed to get Lina in the middle and proceeded to use her as a sort of shield as she teased Ayn.

"He's cute, isn't he?" she giggled. "I saw that blush..."

Ayn sniffed. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Lady Luna!"

"Tall, blonde, handsome... I think he's so you! Yep, you'd be quite the couple..."

Ayn gasped. "Oh give over! That's outrageous! I am shocked!"

"You're only shocked that I saw through you..." Luna teased.

"Uh, guys?" quavered Lina.

"You? See through me? That's a laugh, you couldn't see through a pane of glass without help, Inverse!" said an indignant Ayn.

"Ha, ha, I think I'm going to need a new squire soon!" laughed Luna. "Hey Lina, how did that old child's rhyme go? "Ayn and Milgasa, sitting in a tree..."

"OH! You bitch!" Ayn snorted.

"Nyah, nyah, then you're a bitch's squire..." retorted Luna pressing home the attack.

Lina tried to cring into the floor, before the bitch slapping started...

"G-girls..." she said, sweatdropping. "C-come on, Milgasa's a g-golden dragon..."

"Exactly!" said Luna, giggling again.

"Exactly! said Ayn, sounding indignant.

"I take it you feel our Ayn isn't good enough for him then?" snickered Luna.

"I take it she feels Miss Ayn is too good for him, you mean". responded a haughty sounding Ayn.

"Er, no, I didn't mean... wait..." said a confused Lina. "I, I meant he's a golden dragon, and well, Ayn isn't..."

"That's why it would be such a step up for her if she snagged him!" smiled Luna, wickedly.

"Snagged him!" that was a shocked Ayn. "Oh. Lady Luna is far too bold!"

"Yup!" said a trumphant sounding Luna. "Admit it, he caught your eye when he took your hand on the field of battle! Oh it was soooooo romantic!!"

"B-but, he's a golden dragon!" protested Lina again.

"What? You keep saying that. You want him for yourself? A matched set with Gourry or something?" asked a puzzled Luna.

"T-they'd never make it!" protested Lina. "They are too different! Don't you get it?"

Ayn rolled over and stuck her face in Lina's. There seemed to be a glittering suggestion of a fang in her mouth as she stared Lina down, then said "For someone who's in to tall, blond, and handsom herself you seem to have a problem with it. I don't know what game you two are playing, but you can knock it off now. Just remember, the angrier you get me, the tastier Gourry looks..."

Lina gave Ayn a wide eyed fearful stare, the said, very quietly "I'll be good..." Ayn nodded, and lay back down. Luna, of course, laughed and laughed. It was clear she had hit some kind of mark, but for the life of her, Lina hadn't a clue what it was...

Eventually, they did settle down and go to sleep.

Eventually...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(1) Just thought I'd cite my references. Let me know if it helps or hurts and I'll know if I should do it in future stories...

/amanitabisporigera.html An article on the mushrooom called the "Destroying Angel". 


	6. Chapter 6

It was very early in the morning when Lina awoke from a fitful sleep. She had had dreams of... well, she wasn't quite sure, but they had Luna and Ayn in them, and they were fighting over... someone blond? She seemed to know it was supposed to be Milgasa, but she vaguely remembered that in her dream it had been... Gourry!

Something about, uh, they were each trying to, oh yeah, they each wanted the other one to end up with him... and neither one wanted him... but everytime Lina spoke up and offered to take him she was ignored. And she felt very small, and afraid. Even Gourry didn't seem to notice her, he just kept taking the top of his head off and offering everyone a taste of the yoghurt...

"Man! I need some better terms of endearment for him..." sighed Lina. Then her bladder reminded her of why she woke up and she silently got up and went out to do her business.

The night was brilliantly clear, in contrast to the rainy day, with a pitch black sky, the moon being new. The stars shone more brilliantly than any gemstones Lina had ever seen and she felt a great longing to know what they were, and where. And why and all that too, of course. But, she was done, and it was very cold, so she didn't stay around to find the answers. "Maybe someday I can find the magic to travel to them..." she thought, taking one last look before she headed into the hall again. She did notice a brightening in the east and what looked like a faint cone of light rising from the horizon. "Is it the begining of dawn already?" she thought to herself.

She went in and shivered. "I'm cold." she realised. She looked around and saw that Luna and Ayn had managed to take the blankets, no wonder she was chilled. And fat chance of getting the covers back from those two, either.

On the guys side she saw Milgasa resting on the floor with hardly any cover but his own clothing. Jilas was in a ball, his nose tucked into his tail, and Gavos was lying next to Milgasa, lying on his side, and snoring. Then there was Gourry. He was on the outside, wrapped up in the blanketing, looking like a little ball.

Ah, but a warm one...

Lina smiled. She knew what she was going to do. She peeled back the covers and crawled in behind Gourry. "Warm me up, Yoghurt Brain!" she said happily as she got revenge on Gourry for ignoring her in her dream by putting her cold hands on his neck. There that ought to get a reaction...

It did, but it took a few seconds. Gourry just rolled over and looked at her.

"What did you call me? asked Zel.

"Yoghurt brai..." Lina started to say, then paused, puzzled.

The light came on, late, as usual...

"GYAHHH!!" screamed Lina backing up really fast. And waking the room up, of course...

"Lighting!" she yelled, and a ball of light shone forth brilliantly from her hand. In the light she could see, clearly, that she had just been cuddling up to...

"Zelgadiss Greywords? W-What are you doing here, and where is Gourry??" Lina asked, shocked.

Zel said, in his trade mark casual voice, "That light's rather bright Lina, mind turning it down? Or better yet, off? We can throw a stick or two on the fire if you want light..."

"Yeah, some of us were asleep, you know..." mumbled Luna, just loud enough to carry.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, I was taken majorly by surprise there, just cut me a bit of slack will ya?" Lina sputtered. She let the lighting spell fade as she spoke. Ayn threw a stick on the fire and it soon flared up, casting a pale ruddy glow around the room. "Who's the new guy?" she asked, sleepily.

"Eyeing up your prospects?" asked Luna with a very sleepy, but still sarcastic tone.

"It's too early." said Ayn as she lay back down and drifted off without even waiting for the answer to her question.

"Spoilsport..." sighed Luna, who quickly joined her again in slumberland.

"Well, now that that is over, h-hi, I think..." said a slighty calmer Lina.

"Likewise." replied Zel. He then said "I was here all along Lina, sheltering from the storm. I arrived before you did with some of the local crowd, but you know me and crowds, so I stayed in the corner and even drifted off for a bit. It wasn't until I awoke to hear you three girls talking about romancing Milgasa, or whatever it was, that I realise the storm was over and people had left. It was cold so I came closer to the fire and Gourry, who was still awake made room for me. We chatted, quietly, for a bit, then went off to sleep, while you three were still whispering up a storm. We could hear every word, by the way..."

The apparently sleeping Milgasa let out a breath that somehow sounded like an irritated sigh...

"Hey. That was Luna and Ayn." responded Lina, hoping the dim light would hide her red face. She could feel the blush, and it burned.

"Sorry about what just happened," she went on, "but I, uh, thought it was Gourry, you were all wrapped up in the blankets there. Speaking of whom, where is Jelly... uh, Gourry?" Lina said, looking flustered still.

"Went for a walk, said he was awake." replied Zel. He spoke in his usual deadpan voice, but the cocked eyebrow he gave Lina spoke volumes about what he thought of her cuddling up to strange men. Gourry for example...

"Didn't you see him out there?" he asked.

"N-no, I didn't know to look for him." Lina said, trying to act casual, but blushing even deeper than before at Zel's look.

Just then the door opened and the man of the moment walked in. "Oh! Hey Lina! You're back inside? I see you met Zel." Gourry said with his trademark happy go lucky smile, as he walked over and sat beside her.

"Did you see the false dawn?" he went on. "You know, that cone of light coming up from the east there? Isn't it great? You don't get to see that too often. You must have had a good view from those bushes you were in..."

Lina gave a shudder, then snarled "Oh! Way to announce it to the world, wonder klutz!". She almost bopped him but remembered where she was, and who she was with, just in time. Gourry was safe.

For now.

But Luna wouldn't be around forever...

"I think the other name for them is "zodiacal lights" (1), but don't quote me on that..."said Zel. "But yes, they are pretty..."

"So much we don't know yet..." sighed Lina. She scooped a blanket from somewhere and wrapped it around both Gourry and herself.

"Warm me up or I will bop you..." she muttered.

Gourry chuckled, Lina had the strangest ways of asking for a hug...

Because it was early still everyone managed to drift back to sleep for a couple more hours of sleep. For all her pretense of shyness Lina did manage to drift off in her fiance's arms.

In the morning proper they got up and decided to annoy their stingy host by sitting around the remains of the fire, munching on a meager cold breakfast. Lina thought this was rather unfair of the universe, but decided not to go into it around Luna. Knowing her, she'd enjoy Lina's suffering so much that she'd forget her own hunger. They were nearly done when they were aware of some aggitation outside. The Lord of the keep went out to talk to some messengers who were travelling by. Curiosity being what it was, all ears tuned in. Most didn't hear what was said, but the sharp ears of Jilas, Milgasa, Ayn, and Zel, obviously caught something that put a look of worry and wonder on their faces.

"What?" asked Luna softly. Zel replied "Something called the "Destroying Angel" has struck again, whatever that means..."

"It means more dead dragons." replied Milgasa softly, but clearly aggitated. He stood up. "I have to get to Seirune as fast as possible." he said in a matter of fact voice. "I need to consult the oracles, they have power even the dragons respect. So, I have to fly."

"Good idea." said Luna."So will we, if you can carry some of us." Milgasa nodded. "I will take Gavos, Zelgadiss, and Gourry." he said.

"Show off..." muttered Ayn.

Luna rolled her eyes.

"So, what do we do?" asked Lina.

Luna looked puzzled. "We fly of course." she answered.

"Uh, yeah, I mean, I can Levitate us, but I can't fly as fast as a dragon. We'll be hours late." Lina replied.

Luna and Ayn looked totally dumbfounded at that.

"What are you talking about, sis?" asked Luna. "We'll use my dragon, of course..."

Lina seemed a bit relieved, but asked "Uh, will it get here fast enough?"

Luna went slack jawed.

It was Ayn who clued in first. "Hey, she doesn't know! Oh, that explains a lot!" She then began to laugh, good naturedly, but clearly at Lina's expense.

Luna sighed. "Honestly Lina, I didn't think I'd have to spell everything out for you..." She began to chuckle too. "Watch and learn, sis." was all she would say.

Lina wasn't the most pleased with that, but knew way better than to try to get any more answers out of Luna. She sighed and went to pack up. In short order everyone was outside to the relief of the Keep's owner who seemed like he couldn't close the door fast enough on them. Milgasa said nothing but went around behind a barn. It seemed even male dragons were modest. There was a glow, a horse whinnied in fright, and suddenly a large, impressive looking Golden Dragon rose into the air, did a graceful loop, and landed gently near the travellers. "Okay, men, on me." he said, in a surprisingly quiet voice. The guys scrambled on.

"So, where's yours?" asked Lina, a puzzled Jilas beside her wondering the same thing, but too cautious to say anything.

"Be patient, she'll get here, in her own dawdling good time, as usual..." said Luna with a smirk.

"Bloody cheek! I heard that!" said Ayn huffily, as she wandered towards the barn herself. Just before she went behind it she yelled at them "I catch anyone peeking I'm going to eat them. You especially, blondy..." That last seemed directed at Milgasa who only shook his head in mild annoyance.

It was Lina's turn to be stunned, as she finally got a clue. The clue was confirmed a few seconds later as there was another glow, complete with a now screaming horse. Seconds later a smaller, but graceful and clearly feminine, Black Dragon rose into the air, did a loop, and a barrel roll, then landed with a solid "So There" kind of thump right beside Luna.

The Knight of Ceiphied merely shook her head and said "A barrel roll? How pretentious was that?"

The dragon answered with a snicker, then said, clearly in Ayn's voice, "That's just a warning of what happens if I get any grief in flight. Anyway, is the mystery solved, Lina?" she asked, cocking an eye at the redhead.

Lina could only shake her head yes. All, this time, right beside her, and she hadn't realised it. Ayn was a black dragon, in her human avatar form. Luna's "squire" was a dragon woman, and from the sounds of it a high placed Priestess at that. She should have known. If only because she just knew that Luna was going to have a field day with this at the first opportunity. But, could it have been helped? Her closest look at a dragon had been with Filia, and she was just a kid, in dragon terms. Ayn was a lot older, and it showed in so many ways. The expert way she had kept her tail out of sight, for one thing. The sharper sarcasm for another...

"Up we go..." said Luna as she scrambled onto her familiar perch at the base of Ayn's neck.

"Remember," rumbled Ayn, "any more of the "YEE-HAW" stuff, and your walking, even if we are at altitude..."

Naturally, that's just what Luna did...

With a scream of frustration Ayn shot into the air, Lina and Jilas scrambling to hang on. Milgasa was right behind them, but without the jarring acceleration. Lina wished she had gone with Gourry, he was looking so relaxed. Not like when she carried him with a Levitation spell. He always managed to be afraid she would drop him or something. Sometimes it was tempting too, he did carry on so...

In no time they were up at least a thousand feet, and were heading south to Seirune. The sun shot up to meet them in the sky, and Lina was dazzled at the beauty of that mysterious orb of fire as it hung in the sky all golden like. Golden... Like the Lord of Nightmares... Lina remembered the conversation she had with Luna yesterday when she finally had told her what really happened with HellMaster. Did she really walk with god?

Anyway, for all her threats, Ayn really was giving them a smooth, beautiful ride, and Milgasa was gliding along beside her in what seemed to be some sort of formation flying. A little bit of Lina wished the flight would never end, it was, it was...

Words failed her as a tear came to her eye. "Somethin' wrong Miss?" asked a concerned Jilas beside her.

"No, it's just that it's so beautiful up here like this." explained Lina. "I don't have the words to express it, so a tear came to my eyes for joy." she explained softly.

A minute later, and a soft voice recited a poem that put Lina's feelings in to words.

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;  
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, ≈ and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of ≈ wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,  
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager (self) through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or ever eagle flew ≈ And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space,  
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God." (2)

Lina could only stare in amazement.

The poet was Ayn...

Luna sniffed. "That's so beautiful, I always cry when I hear it. And I'm not ashamed to admit it either." she said giving Lina a bleary smile. It seemed that Ayn was also feeling the emotions as she was silent.

"It's like she's prayin'." whispered Jilas.

"She is." said Milgasa softly from beside them. They hadn't noticed him coming up behind them, yet he spoke so gently they weren't even startled. He explained "Flying is a kind of holy act for dragons, atleast when we can just fly to enjoy it. The air is really our element more than the earth, and when we fly, in our hearts we seem to enter into the presence of God, though whether it is the Golden Lady herself or a sky deity no one has yet determined."

"I feel it." said Lina softly. "It isn't like this when I Ray Wing." She seemed troubled by that somehow.

"Have you ever done it for fun?" aksed Migasa.

Lina had to admit she rarely did.

"Try it some time." he advised.

Lina nodded and smiled. "I will, and thanks for the advice. And I want to learn that poem!" she added.

"I'll teach it to you." offered Luna, a gentle smile on her face. Flying like this got to everyone.

But then she added "As long as you don't pile into any more fruit stands..."

Lina cringed. That had only happened once, when she was learning...

"Not like when we had to dash after DarkStar on Filia's back, eh Lina?" asked Zel. "I don't think anyone enjoyed that flight.."

"Nope, that's for sure." said Lina.

"Yeah, and it didn't help that Amelia would hang out that silly carrot on a stick as if she was a donkey or something." added Gourry.

"You remember that?" asked Lina, impressed.

"I was scared I'd have to try and pull her back if Filia decided enough was enough and pitched her overboard." he said.

Lina nodded. "It was a possibility, and maybe one she deserved, but, all's well that ends well. Or so we hope. After we find her that is. Poor girl, poor Val..." she said.

They flew on in silence. Several thoughts went through several heads. Worry about Filia of course, and wonder at this deadly threat the dragons had in the "Destroying Angel". Questions without answers.

But the sky was beautiful, if a bit cool, and the earth looked fresh washed after the rain. Down below an irregular patchwork of brown, yellow, and many different shades of green rolled under them. Occasionally they'd cross a flashing silver river tumbling along, or a placid blue green lake. Once it was a waterfall, and the dragons humoured the humans by taking a second pass at a lower altitude so they could get a good look from on high, as it were.

"If only ev'ryone could see the world like this..." mutter Jilas, of all people, er, foxpeople... "I bet they'd stop bein' so bent on rulin' it, and just enjoy it more..."

"I hear you." replied Lina. "Alas, people would still be people, and for every hundred or so that enjoyed flight, there'd be one or two wanting to use it as a weapon." She sighed.

The gang flew on and as the morning was passing towards noon, and the air starting to become hot for a change, in the distance, they spotted it!

Seirune City!

The jewel of white magic itself, a perfectly circular city, with its five major streets laid out in a pentagram, and the palace itsef centered in the pentagon formed in the center. White towers shone in the sun, and clean rivers flowed by the wall. All in all it was a glorious sight. From the air one would never be able to believe that blackness could find a place to exist within its walls.

But Lina remembered some of her adventures there, and knew otherwise. Could nothing be perfect?

The dragons began to circle down to a field just before the city. It was easier than landing in amongst the buildings, and trying to land two dragons at the palace itself would have raised more alarms than were worth dealing with. So, the flight came to an end in a pleasant park like area just outside the city wall. "Thank you Ayn." said Lina as she dismounted. "I won't be forgetting this flight anytime soon, that's for sure..."

"You mean you're going to forget at all? Well, that's bloody nerve!" harumphed Ayn.

"Er, well, n-no, no, that's not what I meant" sweatdropped Lina.

"Why not?" asked Luna. "If you give Ayn too much to go on, her head will just swell 'til it bursts."

"Sass!" shouted Ayn, sounding annoyed, but with perhaps a chuckle way in the depth of her voice, down at the part closest to her soul. Lina got something else, and kicked heself inwardly for being so slow on the uptake. The sarcastic infighting was something Ayn and Luna did for fun!

Now Lina knew her worse fears were confirmed. Her sister and Ayn WERE wierdos...

Ayn hmphed herself over to a clump of bushes that barely hid her, and changed back to her human form, muttering about blinding people who peek. Not that anyone did.

At least, not that they admitted to it...

Milgasa, not having so convenient a spot to change in, did what he could and faced away from the group, then went back to his human form too. Lina tried not to peek.

Luna whispered to her. "He's built a lot like Gourry, only with a tail, isn't he?" Lina shuddered, sweatdropped, and nodded her head yes. Luna had busted her, again...

A thought occured to her and she asked, as innocently as she could "Don't you think so too?" Now Luna sweatdropped as she nodded yes. Lina almost gave a little skip! Luna had peeked too! Ha, ha, she was a human after all...

Wait...

How did she know what Gourry looked like?

Lina got ahold of herself only with great effort, this was not the time, or the issue...

Ayn returned to them, fixing her hair up again into her ususal style. "Well, that was fun, but I am glad to have the weight off my shoulders and back. So, are we ready? Fun's fun, but we have a toadstool to catch.

"Toadstool?" asked Gourry.

"Yeah, Gourry, "Destroying Angel" is the name of a deadly poisonous mushroom." explained Lina.

"So, we are looking for a big mushroom, with a club?" asked Gourry, bewildered.

Zel facefaulted. The others looked at Gourry, stunned.

Well, except Lina, who was finally getting used to this. "I'll explain later, okay? We have to get into the city now."

The group walked to the gate, and identified themselves to the guards. They were ushered in at once, and the guards even snapped to attention as Luna went by.

"Gee, I don't get that, I'm kind of jealous." said Lina.

"Ah, it's only because I pack a bigger sword than any man does, and they know it." replied Luna.

Lina had the feeling there was more than one way to take that remark, but really, really didn't want to pursue it. Ayn muttered "Where did I leave that ten foot pole?" as she patted herself all over. Lina sweatdropped...

"You are wearing your sword in it's small state I see." added Gourry, helpfully. Lina flushed. Man, get a clue Gourry...

Luna lifted up a little sword shaped charm that she had been wearing around her neck on a chain. "Yup, too dangerous to carry it around big all the time, not to mention the attention it would attract." she smiled.

Actually, the joke was that Luna had a magic sword second to none (well, with the possible exception of the Blast Blade that Gourry carried, and that was only a maybe...), and one of its powers was that she could carry it as a charm on a chain around her neck, getting its full length, and even its existence, out of view. A quick magic chant, a flash of light and suddenly it was Luna with her full sized sword, ready to go. She had shown it to Gourry and Lina on a rare brief visit they had made over two years earlier, as they were running through Zephielia giving chase to a minor, but annoying mazoku. It had so bitten the dust when Lina caught up with it, but that's another story...

Milgasa said his goodbyes and headed off towards the temples of the white priests, looking for the oracles. Ayn had a whistful look, but whether it was to go with him, or go to the temple, none could tell. She just straight out avoided noticing Luna's smirk.

"Well, maybe we could go to the palace? Perhaps they will have heard something." suggested Lina.

"Yes, good idea." said Zel, but with such a sigh that it made it sound like he thought it was anything but.

"What's the matter?" asked Lina.

Zel hung his head and looked ashamed. "It's Amelia. She's always so happy to see me, and I know how she feels about me, but, over time, I have come to know for sure I'll never feel the same for her. I don't know how to tell her I just want to be friends. I just am not looking forward to this. But, you are right, it is the next place to look for clues."

"The fact that it hurts so much is a good sign of how much you like her." said Ayn softly. "But you are right, if your heart truely tells you not to go there, you should not, the pain you will cause each other will eventually outweigh any joy you might have. But be of good courage Mr. Zelgadiss, it will hurt to tell her, but she will recover, and you will have freed her to go find someone who will be able to return her feelings as they deserve."

"I know, it's just getting started, finding the right time and place, all that." Zel replied.

Ayn nodded. "You usually have to make that, rather than find it." she said.

Zel nodded.

Lina looked thoughtful as she remembered her earlier conversation with Gourry. Hmmm, her fears about the two of them not having enough time together had come true. Poor Amelia. For that matter, poor Zel...

They arrived in short order at the gate to the palace. Again admission was not a problem, not even for Gavos and Jilas. A message was sent to Amelia, and the gang retired to the library. As they waited for the Princess each member of the group found something to read to their own liking.

Except maybe Lina, who was hunkered over a book on Fungi, with Gourry, trying not to burst a blood vessel or two explaining about Destroying Angels...

Amelia made a not so untypical dramatic enterance. Zel was reading an absorbing treatise on chimerism through the ages, tipping back on his chair as he did so. The two non humans had wandered off to go look at the decorative vases that were set out here and there in the palace, and possibly to see if any of them would have been something "The Miss" would have liked. Ayn was giving a critical eye to a book on fancily decorated dragon eggs with a motive to tracking down whoever had done them and charging them with infantacide, and Luna had a romantic comic book she kept interupting Ayn with. Lina had finally gotten through to Gourry, kind of, and was wondering at Ayn's patience with Luna's antics. On the other hand, given Ayn's anger at the dragon eggs, maybe Luna was distracting her for more reasons than just to be annoying. Lina just didn't know what to make of it all, and was too timid to ask.

Suddenly there was a pink flash and a tremendous crash as Zel toppled over backwards onto the floor. He lay there sprawled over the chair, the heavy book on his face. It took a minute but one of the gang finally lifted the book.

A delicate hand covered each of his eyes.

Luna began to chuckle, and Ayn looked perturbed. Lina gave an exasperated sigh, and Gourry simply said "Hi Amelia" as he helped get Zel up and off the Princess.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(1) /spacewatch/zodiacallight021101.html A good and easy explanation of the zodiacal lights, for those who want to know...

(2) Note: Ayn's poem is, of course, the justly famous "High Flight" written by Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee, No. 412 Squadron RCAF. It was written, it is true, to express the human joy of flight in an airplane (a Spitfire in Officer Magee's case), but I can't help but feel that a race as intelligent and refined as the Slayers high dragons could help but have similar feelings about flying, so with apologies and respect where due, I have borrowed it. One thing though, in order to make it fit a being capable of self flight I altered exactly one word in the poem. The bracketed word "self" in Ayn's version is actually "craft" (as in aircraft) in the original. I apologise to purists and fans of the poem everywhere, but, well, dragons don't fly Supermarine Spitfires, they fly themselves. 


	7. Chapter 7

It seemed that Amelia was trying to sneak up on Zel meaning to do the "Guess Who?" thing, only to pull the tipped back chimera over onto herself. Instead of greeting him with a giggle, she had to turn it into a groan as she was helped up off the floor, her pink dress rather dishevled and dusty now.

"H-hi, everyone..." she finally managed in a small voice, looking thoroughly embarassed.

"You didn't happen to see the number of the page I was reading." said Zel by way of greeting.

"Well, someone's a bit put out..." quipped Ayn, smirking.

"OOh, something like this happens on page 54!" said Luna, digging through her comic book.

Ayn took the book from her and slammed it on to the table. "First," she barked, "stop trying to tease me about my love life. Second... it was page 31."

"Oh, so you were paying attention after all!" beamed Luna.

"As if I had a choice..." muttered Ayn rolling her eyes.

"Oh don't give me that! I know what you keep in your locker, all those trashy love mangas." Luna said with a triumphant smile.

"Tra... what? I only have a few books there, and yes one of them is a rather romantic book, but it is also one of the classics of literature, I hardly think it is a trashy romance novel! And how do you know what's in my private locker anyway?" Ayn replied, as she frowned.

"I peeked." replied an unrepentant Luna. "And I didn't say you had trashy novels, indeed if one only had space for a library of few books, your collection would be one of the best. But you could get more in if you didn't have the other stuff there, like the romance comics!"

Ayn looked ready to spit snakes.

"Wh-who are they?" asked a shakey Amelia.

Lina had both a sweat drop and an stress mark as she blushed and answered "P-Princess Amelia, may I introduce you to my sister Luna and her friend Ayn."

"Squire Ayn!" said the black dragon, quite definitely annoyed.

Amelia gave Lina puzzled look. "Aren't squires for Knights?" she asked.

"AMELIA!" screamed Lina, taking her roughly aside. "Uh, I guess I never told you..." she said, a little more calmly. In the background Luna and Ayn exchanged puzzled glances.

Lina explained, and Amelia's eyes went wide. "She's the...?!"

She turned and bowed. "Welcome to Seirune, Lady, uh, Luna."

Luna returned the bow and said "I am honoured to be here, Your Majesty." Then she smirked to Lina and asked "So, you are so embarassed by your older sister you don't even tell your friends about me?"

"Frightened of you, more like." replied Amelia before Lina could get a word in edgewise.

Luna looked curious. "Oh? Of me? Do tell."

"A-Amelia, that's not..." said Lina trying to stop the conversation.

"Well, I only heard about you for the first time when we had our adventure with Miss Filia and that Darkstar creature." said Amelia, apparently not hearing Lina. "And it was Mr. Gourry who did most of the explaining, as Miss Lina was busy building herself a tomb, complete with a big stone coffin. Said something about saving you the trouble. Then she cried for hours in what seemed like fear. And all because she read your "Just do it" note..."

Luna gave Lina an unreadable look. "I see..." she said slowly. "And did she mention why she felt this way?"

"Amelia!" said Lina, sounding more desperate.

"No, she just kept wailing how sorry she was." said Amelia, still apparently not hearing Lina.

Luna grinned. "Good..." was all she said, but it was enough to make Lina gulp and try to hide behind Amelia, as Ayn gave a quiet growl.

Whether it was for Luna or Lina wasn't clear...

Luna giggled and said to Lina "I see your hard lessons weren't wasted after all."

"Oh that, well, ya, they weren't, but Sis, did I really need all that? No wait, forget I asked..."

"Consider it forgoten." replied Luna, sitting back down. "So," she went on, "Princess, what is your favourite choice in books?"

"Anything with the criminal code in it..."muttered Zel, a little unkindly.

"Aw, is someone not the center of attention?" said Ayn, sounding like a cat with a saucer of cream.

"No, that was sarcasm, humourous sarcasm." replied Zel, shaking his head.

"And therefore totally lost on Ayn..." interjected Luna.

"You want to lose a biff up the hooter?" replied Ayn a bit hotly.

"Oh, violence! I didn't know that high priestesses of the temple of Ceipied went in for that." snarked Luna.

"It's what we live for." said Ayn in a somewhat too matter of fact way...

Lina just looked back and forth between the two of them, and wondered. What in the hell was it with her sister? She had always had a streak in her that wanted to be number one. Lina had always thought it had to do with the fragment of Ceiphied she carried inside of her, and that she'd be better when she got older, but the woman was just down right childish. And somehow, Ayn wasn't much better. Yet, her sarcasm seemed the perfect foil to Luna's brattiness. Well then, it was good that they had found each other, uh, wasn't it?

Zel had, in the mean time, begun to fill Amelia in on what he understood to be going on, and about Filia.

"Oh my." said Amelia, her eyes wide as she heard the tale of her friend. "Poor Miss Filia! Oh, I do hope she is alright and that Mister Xellos has behaved himself."

"I'd be more worried about who he likely took her off to meet." replied Zel.

"Hey?" asked Amelia.

"Yep, I had the same thought." said Lina. "In fact, we all did when Jilas and Gavos first told us the tale. Xellos wouldn't take Filia away just anywhere, and he didn't just get her out of sight so he could hug her until she felt better. Nor would he have worried about finding her a picturesque spot to kill herself. Nope, most likely he took Filia home to meet "mama"..."

"BeastMaster!" said Luna, practically spitting with hate, which startled Lina, who hadn't even realised she had been listening.

"Easy big girl, she's more than a match for you, even if you can take on her pet priest with one hand tied behind your back." said Ayn softly. "But chances are she was made the evening roast a long time ago, if that was her fate."

She thought a minute then added "Beastmaster and Dolphin are tied to the feminine energy of the universe, they are weaker, but more cunning than their three "brothers". I have a bad feeling about Filia and her fate if she was taken to meet the Greater Beast..."

"Well, we should bring this up at the meeting this afternoon." said Amelia.

"What meeting?" one of the gang asked.

"Well, as you must have observed, it looks as if there is about to be a civil war amongst the dragon kindreds." Amelia replied. "So, daddy has called a lot of wise people in from everywhere to discuss the situation. And we have a visitor or two coming in who have dragon problems they want to discuss to see if they can arrive at an understanding, if not a resolution. He hasn't discussed this very much with me, so I presume we will have to see what's what when we have the meeting. I'm sure that what has happened to Miss Filia must tie in somehow. Do come to the meeting and let's see if we can find out what is happening." she said.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea." said Lina.

Since it was a short time until the meeting, they all drifted out for lunch on the veranda. The day was still sunny and bright and Lina looked up and stared. "Flying." she thought. "I have got to take more time for just doing it for fun..."

Finally they ended up at the main hall. It was a bit early, but other guests had begun to arrive. Most of them were learned professorial types with varying degrees in dragonology. Ayn frowned at the the thought of her kind being studied like some sort of lab specimens, but had to keep her mouth shut as the dragons did the same thing in their own way with the other races that inhabited the planet. Oh well, what goes around comes around..."

There were some other guests who had been investigators at the attacks of the "Destroying Angel" and who were obviously going to give testimony of some sort. They tended to be a tight lipped bunch, giving the impression they didn't want to repeat what they had seen or heard any more then they had to.

And then...

There was a stir at the entrance to the hall and a young woman, tall, beautiful, and with hair almost as red and fiery as Lina's entered with her enterage in tow. Clearly some one of high rank! Amelia stiffened a bit, and a small frown settled on her face. Lina had seen that look before, obviously her friend didn't care for this person, but was having to make nice to her. Well, she did have a rather stuck up air about her, probably her position had gone to her head.

The young woman swept by, seeming not to notice anyone or anything, but Lina did see a flickering glance directed at her as she passed. Suddenly, the woman stopped, a look of recognition on her face as she turned to look fully upon Lina.

"Lina?" she asked. "Lina Inverse?"

Lina was unsure. The girl did seem familiar, but she couldn't place her. Damn, she hated when that happened. "Yes." she replied in a non commital way, desperately trying to recall if this girl was likely to be a friend, an enemy, or a creditor.

The woman smiled, then chuckled. "Ahhh, you don't remember me. Have I changed so much then, from the day you set my Sword of Chaos on fire?" she smirked. "Where's your bouncy friend? Maybe she'd remember her former "employer"?

By now everyone was staring at Lina. Thankfully the candle lit and Lina remembered just in time to avoid being totally embarassed.

"Marlene Calvert! I mean, Princess Marlene! Of course! Well, now, that has been a long time indeed! How is your father? And your kingdom, and your dear dragons? I hope that Geizneau is growing up to be a good dragon?" said Lina with a smile. What the heck, Marlene had just been a rebelious 12 year old kid who, um, started a civil war because her dad wouldn't raise her allowance. Surely she was better by now?

Marlene was quiet for a minute and Lina's smile faded as it became apparent all was not as well as she had thought it would be. Marlene spoke finally, and said "Well, first, it's now Queen Marlene after daddy blew a gasket in his heart last year..."

She paused, then went on "And just as I was getting over that, my Dragons were all killed, even little baby Geizneau who cause you so much trouble. All I could get from, from Mr. Zone Flare, before he died, was that it was something called the "Destroyed Angel" or something like that, who had attacked them and did them all to death with its mace. I picked up on the image he had of the creature, a human looking woman, in armour, her face and head hidden in a helmet, but, she had a tail it seems. He seemed to feel it was a dragon in avatar form, it was hard to be sure though, he was dying rapidly and in pain. I am crushed by this, it is a grievous loss, those particular dragon families have been with the Calverts for many generations."

"It is also confusing, if he's right then it had to be a high dragon, they are the only ones able to take a true human avatar form, little Geizneau and his shapeshifting magic notwithstanding. But why would she want to kill lesser dragons, or any dragons for that matter? And why would she fight in that form? And above all, where did her hideous strength come from? It makes no sense. Ah, my poor friend, he likely got it wrong, and was too far gone to be any clearer. I hope I can find answers here, I want the one responsible brought to justice."

She looked very fierce as she finished. One got the impression that her idea of "Justice" was likely to be long, drawn out, messy and a tad painful...

"You are a sensitive, like many in your family. I am sorry for you, this loss is obviously as grievious for you as losing your father was." That was Ayn, speaking quietly.

Marlene turned opened her mouth to speak, then stopped as her powers kicked in and she realised what Ayn was...

"Holiness..." she said, bowing to the dragon priestess.

"Majesty." replied Ayn, dropping a proper curtsey in reply.

"I see you have met?" whispered Amelia to Lina.

"Tell ya later." said Lina with a nod.

"Tell me, high one, what brings you here? Are you attending the meeting?" asked Marlene.

"No, she's here because she's taken up the hobby of making my life miserable." interjected Luna with a smirk. "Alas, poor me..."

"Sucks to be you, I agree..." said Ayn in a snide tone.

Marlene turned her gaze to Luna. She paused for a second and then, well, seemed to blush, or atleast flush...

Lina grimaced, what was that in aid of? Marlene better not set Luna off...

Marlene spoke. "Well! What have we here? Tell me, my pretty, who are you that a high dragon who is also a high priestess would want to make your life so miserable?"

"Just a poor defenseless nobody that the cruel dragons like to pick on because they can get away with it." said Luna in mock distress. "Oh, and I'm also Lina's big sister, Luna. I was accorded the rare privelage of going on a trip with my little sister whom I hadn't seen for ever so many years as she was off becoming famous for spooking dragons (Lina winced at that...), and just when we get to Seirune, well, all this dragon business happens and my sister gets caught up in it, as usual. It's not fair..."

"Oh? How wonderful!" repled Marlene as she stepped closer to Luna. "Well, I didn't even know Lina had a sister. But surely you must have some talents as the sister of the self proclaimed world's greatest sorceress? Why would the dragons want to pick on you?" she asked.

By now Ayn had shaken her head, rolled her eyes, and muttered "Outta here..." and wandered off to one side.

Luna played along. "On no, I'm just a humble waitress from Zephielia. Lina's the famous one, and rightly so. And I don't mind in the least, but it's hard to live in the shadow of greatness. I think the dragons all like to pick on me because Lina spooks them too badly and they can only get to me instead. It's such a cruel fate, alas..."

"Hey!" said Lina, with a tinge of annoyance. Just when she thought she had gotten over that, that, reputation...

"Fate can be changed, you know." said Marlene in a slinky tone of voice. "And greatness can be given. If you are interested, that is. Have you ever wanted to live in a palace? I am surrounded by fawning courtiers all the time, I would enjoy the company of a pretty woman who would be my friend. Or, maybe more? Interested?"

Some of the "fawing courtiers" especially some of the female ones looked daggers of jealousy at Luna...

Lina exchanged worried glances with Amelia. "Is she a...?" she asked.

"Uh, huh. A big one..." replied Amelia in a peculiarly flat tone that let Lina guess Marlene must have turned her affections on Amelea at some point.

Lina grimaced. How was Luna going to react to this?

"Who, me? A peasant girl? Oh, I'd never be good enough for the likes of Your Majesty! You shouldn't give me such false hopes, they might go to my head!" Luna replied, sounding like she was flattered by the unexpected offer.

Now Lina really didn't know how to take it. Luna had shown no interest in anyone, of any gender, all these years, and now she was just going to go to pieces over the likes of Marlene Calvert? Impossible.

Or was it...

But, what would that make Marlene, Lina's "sister in law" ?? Huh? How did THAT work? Her head was woozey. What was Luna doing?

"Well, I realise it is a big offer to have handed to you all at once. Why don't you think it over during the meeting and we can talk afterwards?" said a husky toned Marlene. She obviously was used to moving in and getting her way with little delay.

Lina just shook her head. Right, not her decision...

Marlene left Luna with a wink, and a come hither smile, and swept into the room for the meeting.

Luna watched her go, an inscrutable smile on her face.

Before she could go on she was mercifully interupted.

"Miss Lina! Princess Amelia! Why hello! It's been a long time since I've seen either of you." said a cheerful, and familiar, voice. "Oh! And Mr. Zel is here, and, of course, Gourry dear! You are taking care of him, right Lina?"

Lina turned and with a laugh said "Sylphiel! Hello indeed. It has been a long time!" Some of that was, of course, relief over being distracted from whatever Luna was up to, but most of it was genuine happiness at seeing her friend again. Indeed it had been awhile. "What brings you here?" she went on with a smile.

"Oh, my uncle is attending this meeting here today, and I was able to beg admitance in case we healers needed to know something or other. Just between you and me, I was getting rather bored just being a temple maiden lately, and well, anything to break the monotony. I like what I do, but I do miss the old days of wandering with you all, I rather liked the adventure to be honest, he, he..."

Lina cocked an eye at her. "Temple maiden? You mean you aren't married yet? Amelia, what's wrong with all the men in Seirune?" she teased, sure that Sylphiel had not even been looking.

"Maybe some people are just too picky?" suggested Amelia in a slightly brittle way.

"Oh my. I really haven't been looking, truth to tell. Why? Is it a big deal, Miss Lina? Is it still Miss?" she added, with a glance at Gourry.

"Oh! Er, no, no, just curious..." said Lina trying to cover. "Um, well, for what it's worth, we are engaged..."

"How wonderful!" said Sylphiel. And she seemed genuinely pleased to hear it too.

"What!!" said Amelia. "When did this happen? And you didn't tell me?" She seemed a pouty all of a sudden.

"What? Hey, uh, I'm sorry Amelia but we just made the decision to go ahead with what we should have done years earlier a few days ago and we were near my home so we went to tell mom and dad first then this dragon thing kind of blew up in our faces and we came here and we just got here and we just met you in the library and the chance never came up..."

"Lina!" said Amelia, looking desperate. "Breath! Or at least use comas and periods..."

"Huh?" said Lina.

"She means slow down and just tell her." said Sylphiel helpfully. "And I'd appreciate it too. But I take it that you are finally ready to marry everyone's favourite Elemikian hero?"she said with a smile.

"Everybody's who what?" said Gourry, finally joining in.

"Her former love interest." explained Zel, causing Sylphiel to flush slightly.

"Er, that's not what I meant, exactly..." she said in a shy tone.

At that point a chamberlain came out and announced "Hear ye, Hear ye! All persons having any interest in the proceedings are to make their way into the hall and take a seat."

With that, there was a surge of people into the hall, and the meeting was begun.

And being that this was Seirune that meant that there was a rather long, bombastic, and somewhet pointless speech by Prince Phil. Most of the people present had the usual polite, if pained, expressions on their faces. Amelia, now at the head of the table, had the usual rapt look of attention on her face that she always had when her "Daddy!" was speaking. Daddy's girl for sure...

Luna for some reason, seemed to be genuinely unnerved by the experience. "How long can he go on like this?" she whispered to Lina.

Lina whispered back "Shush Luna, if he hears you he'll go on even longer."

She was amazed to see her big sister turn bluish at that...

Finally, it wound to an end and the meeting was turned over to the panel of dragon experts who were to speak. One of the learned men stood up and addressed the audience. He basicaly said what was already known to the group, that the dragons had never resolved all their internal hurts from the "Kouma Sensou", the so called " Second War of the Monsters Fall", and that tensions that were a long time simmering below the surface had recently come to a full boil and turned the dragon world into a pressure cooker that was ready to explode in a cascade of super hot steam.

"Sheesh, enough with the hot water analogies, already." muttered Ayn as she listened to him talk.

The man further stated that there had been recent events noted that were adding to the strain and which had just about reached the trigger point, raids, skirmishes, and public clashes between different groups, and races, of dragons.

And then the "Destroying Angel" had burst upon the scene. The creature was suspected of being a dragon in human form, probably a female, but no one was sure, no witnesses ever survived. Well, there had been the one human child, and some of the dragons had died slowly enough to tell some information, but that was becoming rarer as the killer became more profficient at the task. The thing that was mysterious was that all dragons seemed to be suffering equally under this terror. Each group was blaming the others for unleashing it, and if something wasn't done soon, there would be no stopping the civil war.

One final thing had been found out. A while back a group of dragons had stolen the official seals to the "Great Council of All Dragons" and had worked much mischief of the worst kind with all sorts of false letters and legal documents bearing the seal. They had eventually been stopped, but they were revealed to be a gang of hot heads who felt that only through war could they settle all the grievances of dragon kind. Worse, they were on the verge of succeeding, even thought the captured ones were no longer around to see their handiwork come to fruition.

"They were executed?" said a stunned Ayn. It was not unknown, but it was very rare in the dragon world for the death penalty to be invoked.

The old man who was speaking sat down, but not before stating that the question before the meeting was now what to do to stop the war, or failing that, to prepare humanity to weather the storm.

With that, the floor was thrown open to any who wished to speak. There was a tense, busy silence as people thought things over. Then a voice came from the floor "What of the mazoku? They can't have failed to notice all of this?"

"No," replied one of the panel, "yet they seem to be just watching for now. Whether they await an opportune moment to strike, or whether they feel their interests are best served by staying out of the way so as not to make common cause for the Dragons to unite against is not known."

"But without the dragons, who will hold back the Mazoku?" came another question.

"We can't say..." said one of the panel.

Of all people it was Lina who shot up and shouted "Hey gramps! Who do you think has been holding them back now? The dragons haven't been protecting the human world, atleast not that much. Sheesh!"

"The floor recognises Lina Inverse..." rumbled Phil with what looked faintly like a smile on his face. There was a bit of a buzz. Lina was well known by reputation, but not everyone knew what she looked like. Comments like "Her?" and "Such a tiny girl?' flitted around, and then...

There was an uncautious "So Flat?"

"Who said that!?" screamed Lina.

"Not the Palace! Miss Lina, not the Palace!" shrieked Amelia as she rushed down from her father's side to stop her.

"Whoa! Take it easy Lina." councilled Zel. "Think of the innocent people..."

"If they are so innocent all they have to do is reveal the bigmouth and I'll spare them..." she replied rather loudly.

"You'll do it anyway, now sit down and shut up." said a quiet, but commanding voice. It was Luna. In Holy Knight mode. Lina did as she was told with no more comment than a fait "eep..."

Luna rose and faced the floor. She waited until Phil gave her formal recognition.

"The floor recognises Luna Inverse, the Knight of Ceiphied." he said.

Marlene's eyes bulged so much they almost exploded as she struggled to breath...

"Thank you, your Majesty." Luna said. Then she made her statement.

"The dragons haven't protected humanity by interfering so much as by simply being a major target of the Mazoku and diverting them. If you have been expecting them to be our saviours you are sorely mistaken, for such was never the intended reason they were created for. If you would prepare for a world of Mazoku but no dragons, you must start by making everything as right as you can in the human world. The mazoku feed on suffering, despair, anger, and all other negative emotions. Put them away. Make peace, whether it is between nations or individuals. Help each other, and become happy. It is a more effective weapon against them than you realise. And those who have the ability should be encouraged to study magic or swordsmanship. But above all, practice peace and good will, for such will sicken the mazoku. And if you will not listen, you must suffer in the hell you make for yourselves, for not an army of Linas and Lunas can defend you if you make it easy of them." With that she sat down.

"Hmmm..." said Ayn, clearly not that convinced.

Lina looked over a couple of seats to Gourry. She could see a worried look on his face and realised he was thinking of his own history. He had run away from home after taking the family's most precious heirloom, the Sword of Light. He had done it to bring peace to his family as there was much infighting and the threat of bloodshed over who would inherit the sword, but it had come at the cost of earning his family's hatred forever. She knew Luna's words were right, but she knew it would be so hard to do. She had an overwhelming urge to go hug him and try to make him feel better, but she couldn't. Not here, not now.  
Stupid meeting.

Would it never be over? 


	8. Chapter 8

Of course the meeting did end eventually. But there was a lot of discussion first. There were gory post mortem accounts of the aftermath of attacks. Some were thought to be the work of the Destroying Angel, others were thought to be faction on faction violence. There was discussion on when the violence started, and Jilas and Gavos were dragged into it to tell their story of Filia's being attacked. It was a tale unknown to many researchers, but the consensus seemed to be that that might have been the first attack. As a result of this the resources of Seirune were offered to Luna and the Slayers to help in rescuing Filia.

"I suspect the greatest need will be if she lives and we rescue her." said Lina. "There is no telling what she's gone through at the hands of the monsters. But for now, I think we need library resources to tell us everything known about BeastMaster, and Wolfpack island."

"Done and done!" said Phil in a magnanimous tone.

"I can help!" said an enthusiastic Amelia.

"Hmmm, not just now, daughter, we have a special guest to prepare for." rumbled Phil in reply, to Amelia's obvious dissapointment. Zel did his best not to sigh in relief...

Sylphiel whispered to her uncle, who nodded. She got up and came to Lina and said "I'd like to help, Miss Lina." she offered. "Uh, sure." replied Lina.

The meeting ended and the gang started drifting back to the library.

There was a red flash as, who else, Marlene, rushed up to Luna. "You! You're, The Knight!!" she gasped. "But, why didn't you say?"

"What, about that?" said perplexed sounding Luna. "Oh, was it important?"

Lina did a double take...

Marlene frowned. "I have my faults, including a certain level of ignorance, Miss Inverse, but stupidity isn't one of them. I would have respected a simple "No." I'm not quite the grasping child I was at twelve, and greedy or not, I know certain things have to be given freely. I asked in good faith..." she pouted, a tear in her eye.

Then she buried her face in her hands and wept. "I-I'm sorry, I have no business being put out with you, I'm more upset over both my father and my dragons that I let on..."

Luna wrapped the girl in her arms and said "There, now you are being honest with me, dear Queen. Listen, I didn't actually say no or yes. I can't, as the Knight, I have to live a holy life, I am not allowed. But I am very, very flattered that one of your greatness would look to me as worthy of such an honour. I guess I didn't say anything because it was so sweet that you didn't know, and yet still you liked me..."

Marelne seemed comforted by that. She looked up and said a teary "Really? Oh, I never knew, I'm so sorry. But if I made you happy, I am so glad. Okay, Miss Luna, I, I won't forget you, or what might have been. Thank you for telling me..."

Luna smiled and nodded. Marlene smiled and bowed, then, drying her eyes she swept imperiously away. There seemed to be a quiet sigh of relief from some of the girls following her...

Lina just stared a Luna. She never know Luna wasn't allowed to...

"Well, that's letting her off easy..." said Ayn, a smirky sarcastic tone in her voice.

"Ya, well, someone who mourns the death of dragons, you have to go easy on them, their minds are so fragile..." Luna smirked back.

Ayn gave Luna a look that shot daggers from her eyes...

Lina just sighed and hung her head. Luna had been lying, it was just a joke to her. Not that Lina wanted her sister to end up with Marlene, but Luna was just making fun of love in general now. What must she think of Gourry and her?

They finally made it to the library

Word of their requirements had been sent to the staff and several books awaited them, including some from the locked archives. "How come no one has ever invented a speed reading spell?" whined Luna, of all people, when she saw the piles of books waiting for them.

Ayn sniffed. "Let's do some speed weeding first. I'll bet some of these have only short articles, or even duplicates of what we have here."

The group sighed and set to work.

They were able to reduce the number of volumes they were interested in by about a third. They then split the books between them, leaving each person with a large but manageable pile. And then they set to reading.

They came up for air a bit later and started sharing what they were learning.

"Well, it's big." said Luna. "No brainer there I know. It's a tall thick tower of granite basically, that she's hollowed out for her own uses."

"Old volcanoe" said Ayn.

"Hey?" asked Lina, looking up from her book.

Ayn went on. "Yeah, give a race that lives for thousands of years a bit of credit to keep their eyes open." she smirked. "When a volcanoe goes extinct the softer surface rock eventually washes away, leaving the hard core of lava behind. Granite, and basalt, are the two kinds of rock you usually get when lava cools. Way harder and tougher than steel, and moulded into a single, seamless tube. The thing is stronger than any wall ever built and you could ram it with a trebuchet throwing quarter ton stones forever and not make a dint. She's strongly defended. And it too big to beseige easily, and with that much room inside, who knows how much she has stored away? Not that she needs it herself, but her armies and her wolves, they are well in a position to wait out most attacks. And her power is enormous too, if she wanted to get offensive."

"Oh yeah." said Lina. "I've been reading on that. Interestingly, some say she's actually the weakest of the five lords, though what scale you measure that on is beside me. She makes up for it by being the nastiest. I guess she's quite the sadistic Mistress when you get on her bad side. Her biggest talent seems to be manipulation. Now I know where Xellos gets it from."

"What, the bass salt in the impenetrable tower?" asked Gourry. Obviously he go the military strategy, but hadn't followed everything Ayn said...

After he hit the floor and lay still Lina went on, leaving it to Sylphiel to run over and see if he was alright. "A military solution won't work here, we want to go and help Filia. We need Ninjas or something like that."

"A sneak attack, grab and run." said Zel. "We need bandits, really."

Lina hit the desk with her head. "Like any of them are going to help us there, after Gourry and I have been beating the crap outa them for so long..." she sighed.

Zel thought for a minute then said "Well, you've only been beating the crap out of the ones stupid enough to be caught. There are some that you haven't met. Unfortunately, I know a few contacts from Rezo, and I might be able to put the word out on the street."

"Dirty plan." said Ayn.

"So it might work..." said Luna, shaking her head.

"Uh, we were bandits..." said Jilas softly, looking sheepish, and a little scared. "Remember when we worked for Lord ValGaav? It wasn't all running around with a cannon and terrorising unco-operative towns, we also spied, an' snuck around stealin' things he wanted. Usually magical things. And a kidnappin' once, though that left a really bad after taste..."

"So, you're saying you are a pair of sneaks?" asked Ayn as Luna gave Gavos a once over.

Jilas looked a bit ruffled by that. Well! I'm a foxman, after all..." he huffed.

"He's the better one." said Gavos. "Just try playing cards with him..."

"Hey?" said Jilas. "And what're we implying?"

"You're on!" cut in Ayn, producing a deck from somewhere...

In short order a traditional game of five card stud was up, deuces wild, and with real gold on the table. "What are you doing?" whispered Luna. "Getting taken, at the moment..." growled Ayn as Jilas smoothly met her and upped the ante...

"Well, I'll be a gentleman and let you fold now..." he said. "Try and die!" hmphed Ayn in response, meeting Jilas in her turn and also upping the ante as the third card up showed a pair of jacks!"

"I give up..." sighed Luna as she left her to it...

After a minute Gourry got up and walked over to the game. Lina was deep in a book and didn't notice, neither did Zel. Lifting her head Lina said "There seems to be a strong magic talisman on the top of the tower. I don't think that can be good. She must be drawing enormous amounts of power."

Zel nodded. "I was just reading that too. I wonder, she'd probably be able to use the tower itself as an amplification device. If she's the weakest..."

Sylphiel quietly added "What will that do to our power?"

"We are in trouble if we do this less that perfectly..." said Lina.

"Well, why don't you get the Golden Lady to cover our backs?" giggled Luna.

Lina frowned. "Please, Luna, that is something you shouldn't make fun of..."

"I meant no offence." Luna replied softly. "I hadn't forgoten what you said yesterday. I'm sorry."

Lina was shocked. Luna? Apologise. "I, uh..." she started. Then she ran over and hugged her sister. At that moment there was a shout from the table. Ayn didn't like something...

At the table Ayn had just slammed her cards down in disgust. Jilas seemed stunned. Lina noticed...

"GYAHH!" she screamed. "Gourry! What are you doing? Oh no, you were gambling? You, you, you Yoghurt Brained Jellyfish! How much did you lose?"

"How much did you lose?" asked Luna, parroting the same quetion to Ayn.

The truely distraught dragon lady gave a growl as she buried her face in her hand. "Mumble , mumblemumbel..." she said.

"Ayn..." said Luna...

"One hundred gold!" Ayn snapped back, repeating herself, disgust in her voice. "Rotten cheater..."

Luna dropped whatever she was holding. "You, lost, how, much...!?" she said. "You don't lose!" she added.

"So, met your match in Jilas did you?" said Lina. "I still wanna know how much Gourry lost. Jilas, what did he bet?" she asked of the foxman.

Gavos just smirked. "I warned you..." he said.

"What ya bloody hell lookin' at me for?" said Jilas, obviously unpleased. "He's the one that won..."

Gavos dropped his jaw. "But you never lose..."

Luna began to laugh as Ayn wailed "Lost, to a human, oh, the horror, the horror..."

Zel shook his head and shoved his nose farther into his book.

Lina squealed in pure joy. "You won? Why didn't you say so?" she said, Jumping up and giving Gourry a big hug.

"Er, I never got the chance to speak..." he explained as he handed the small purse over to Lina. Her laugh was perhaps less than kind...

At that point the library staff came and shushed them...

Deciding it was time for supper they headed out to a local restaurant. Lina was in a generous mood and offered to treat. After all Gourry had just come into some money that needed spending. Ayn seemed to see black for a moment at that one. But Luna just said in an amused tone "Vengance is best served up with a big plate of food and lots of drink..."

Ayn calmed down, then smiled, then eventually started to giggle. "Okay, it's a game of chance, I lost..." she said, sitting down. "But Gourry, where ever did you learn to play like that?"

Gourry put his hand behind his head and giggled in his turn. "Well, when I was a mercenary we played that all the time. I started off by losing my pay, until I figured out how to bluff..." he explained.

"Hmmm..." said Lina to herself, looking thoughtful.

"I'll tell mom if you do..." whispered Luna in her ear, which caused Lina to jump up with a yelp.

"Ah, that's better..." said Luna, ignoring Ayn's frown.

They set to with a will when the food arrived, and that's how they were engaged when the guards arrived and excitedly begged them to return to the castle. After grabbing up what they could and eating on the way they got to the castle to find several people in a state of aggitation. Apparently a large troop of dragons had been seen just outside of town, and apparently something was attacking them.

"Right! On it!" said Luna, all business and Knight like now.

Zel drew his sword and chanted an "Astral Vine" spell onto it. Every advantage helped after all...

Ayn gave a little gasp. "Dragons being attacked? We must hurry!"

Sylphiel gave a classic "Oh My! Should we get some healers from the white temple too? Dragons can be healed with white magic, but it takes a lot of energy."

Prince Phil appeared before them. "Please go and investigate, and report back quickly. I heard what you said Miss Sylphiel and I shall send the healers, but go, now. Lady Luna, if you can, please make peace."

Luna nodded. Then Amelia, who had been beside her father spoke up. "Daddy, let me go, I'm a white healer too, and Miss Sylphiel and I can start helping until the healers get there. Please?"

Phil looked reluctant, but nodded. "Okay, you have a good point, but get going..."

"I can't carry everyone." said Ayn in a worried tone.

"I will levitate Gourry and myself." volunteered Lina.

"No need, I'm in." They turned, and saw Milgasa had rejoined them. "We need a place to change though." he said.

Ayn blushed deeply. "No time! Here, clear the court yard, we'll have to do it here. But one Peeping Tom, and I'll personally level the kingdom when this is over." she said, her teeth clenched as she walked to the center of the court yard. Phil hurridley shouted orders for the yard to be cleared and no one to look. Surprisingly, or, perhaps because it was Seirune, not so surprisingly, no one did. At least they didn't admit to it if they had...

In under a minute,there were two dragons, one golden, and one black, standing in the court yard as people mounted them for the second time that day. The take off was somewhat rougher, but the urgency was greater. For one thing, there were no teasing shouts from Luna. And speaking of Luna, while the dragons had changed form, she too had activated her magic and morphed into the Knight. She too had muttered darkly about "lookers", but in truth, it was over so fast there was nothing to see. At least she wasn't being shadow projected this time, as she took the opportunity to point out to a cringing Lina...

The group was airborn and began circling the city, looking for the field of battle. It didn't take long to find, and it was impossible to miss. Well, but dragons in their true form were so big...

The dragons landed quickly and the group was off and running to the first pile of bodies. Soldiers by the looks of things, and all of them dead from large and bloody wounds. What could have done so much damage, to creatures of such great size, and with strong reptilian bodies as well.

There was a gasp, and they turned to see Ayn, in human shape again, standing there in shock and horror, retching at the carnage. Milgasa, who had also changed came up and gave her a protective hug. He soothed her as best he could. "Be strong..." he said. "This will only get worse, but we must go through it if we are to stop it."

Any accepted the hug and nodded at his words. "We must stop this before it is every dragon in the world. Forgive me, I was momentarily overcome by the shock..."

"There is nothing to forgive." said Milgasa. "You wouldn't be worthy of your high calling if you didn't have feelings, Holiness..."

Ayn stepped out of his hug and smiled at him as she wiped a tear from her eyes. "Please, just call me Ayn. Titles are for stupid rituals at the temple..." she said.

Milgasa gave a little bow and said, "Of course, Ayn."

They moved over to the next set of bodies. Here they had an even nastier shock. More soldier, some male dragons, and in the middle, a female, with a baby. All dead, all horribly slaughtered. "Defending her to the death..." muttered Gourry, assessing the situation. Lina looked on, but couldn't help but slip her hand into his and squeeze, as she gulped down the gorge rising in her throat...

Sylphiel and Amelia examined the bodies, horror and sorrow in their eyes. "These aren't just battle wounds, who ever did this wanted them to suffer, then killed them with what must have been spectacular splashes of blood. Look, the child is almost split in half from the blow." said Sylphiel.

"I have no words for this..." said Amelia very quietly. "This is beyond all justice, there is no place for a speech here. We must stop this, and end it permanently."

They all nodded. They toured the rest of the field. More of same. The worst part was the shattered eggs...

"This was a group of families fleeing from somewhere or to somehwere, with some guards along for protection." said Gourry as he summed up what happened. "I guess they were fleeing a battle or atleast feared one would break out soon. But they met something on the way that they weren't able to handle."

"A war party?" asked Amelia.

"No. The tracks are wrong, the battle formations are wrong." said Zel. "This actually looks like the work of a single attacker. If there was a gang on a gang we should expect to find some of their bodies too, they couldn't all have survived a battle."

"Yes." said Milgasa. "And these are all white dragons. I don't think that with tensions being what they are in the dragon world that we would see dragons of any race destroying their own kind. This must be the work of the "Destroying Angel".

"I fear you are right." said Luna quietly.

"Hey, who's that?" said Gourry pointing off to one side of the battle. In the distance they could see a figure, crouched down on one knee. It seemed to be, well, short of breath or something...

"A survivor!" squealed Amelia, taking off at a dead run.

"Wait! Amelia! Oh for the love of..." shouted Zelgadiss, running after her. Soon they were all in moton trying to keep up with Amelia. They rapidly approached the lone figure.

It turned out to be a knight. The knight wore a breastplate with no design, so it was impossible to tell if he was from Seirune or not. And his head was totally encased in a helmet so that it was impossible to see his face. The knight also had on shoulder pads, and what appeared to be a thick robe, or skirt like garment of some sort, covered with chain mail. Armoured boots projected from underneath, with horrid looking spikes on the bottom to increase the grip on the ground. But the most interesting thing was the fact that the knight was kneeling, and supporting himself, not with the usual sword, but with a rather viscious looking mace...

And there was blood everywhere. The original color of the robe was imposible to tell, it was dark red now.

"Good Sir Knight! Are you hurt? Did you witness what happened here?" asked Amelia as she ran up. The Knight did nothing for a short time, then turned and fixed his gaze upon her and the others. He said nothing, though he was getting his breath back by now.

"Sir?" asked Amelia again.

The Knight got up slowly, and turned to face the group. They stood there, looking back at him. They were a bit puzzled.

Amelia steped forward. "Good Sir Knight, uh, we are your friends, you are safe with us..." she said, then faltered...

The Knight spoke at last, with a voice that sounded hoarse from shouting, and muffled by the helmet. In a strange, and chilling tone he said "The Justice freak and her pet Chimera, Lina the hothead and her boy toy of a swordsman, a weak minded white witch, the evil Knight, and two walking dead lizards in human form... Lord of Nightmares, Holy Goddess, you do love me..."

The group looked on, confused by this. The warriors among them instinctively braced themselves.

And then it came. A shriek of battle, and the strange Knight struck a swinging blow straight for Amelia. Only Zel pushing her out of the way in time saved her, but he took the blow on his arm, and for once, he met with a force strong enough to do something. The blow shattered his bones, and he was down with a scream of shock and agony, his sword arm out of commission. Instantly, Sylphiel was at his side to heal him, but it would take time.

"Lina! The Princess!" shouted Luna desperately as she went forward to block the attacker from getting at her.

Lina moved in and pulled Amelia back, and Luna set up to attack the knight.

Gourry was quicker and sent an arcing slash from the Blast Blade straight to the shoulder of the attacker. But the Knight was uncommonly fast and actually managed to dodge it. Gourry received a viscious side swipe for his pains and was lucky it was ill timed, as a result he took a glancing blow to the breastplate which knocked him, stumbling, backwards, straight into Milgasa. They tangled each other up, fell down, and were useless for a few seconds.

The one who made the biggest difference was Ayn. In a classic dragon move she flipped something out from under her skirt and with a whirl produced a flail. It didn't have spikes on it, so it wasn't a morningstar, but it definitely had a ball and chain on the end of the handle, so it wasn't a true mace. But it was a weapon she obviously knew how to handle. Once the fool humans were out of the way she sent a smashing blow that hit the Knight directly on the helmet, knocking it awry. The Knight desparately backed off, trying to restore his vision.

Gourry returned just then and managed to get a stab in at the helmet too. By some instinct the Knight managed to dodge the full blow, but the helmet suddenly shattered and fell open. With an angry swipe the Knight shoved the thing off his head.

There was a sudden explosion of gold as a full head of blonde hair burst out from under the helmet. There was a brief shimmer as it floated down and into place in a disheveled kind of way. The others backed off, partly from curiosity, partly to reasess the situation. The knight turned his head to face his foes.

Lina staggered back in shock. Amelia was unable to speak, and Zelgadiss gasped. Ayn glared. Milgasa was confused. Sylphiel looked up but didn't know what to make of it. Luna was as confused as the rest.

Gourry took a different approach. "Oh HEY! It's You! Hiya Filia! What's with all this?"

Filia glanced at him, perhaps surprised he recognised her. "The truth..." she said cryptically.

"What?" said Ayn, frowning.

Filia answered with a sudden, brutal attack that almost made it. She move her head just in time, but some of her hair was caught by the sharp blades on the head of the peculiar mace and some of her black locks floated off. She looked stunned but didn't have time to dwell on it as Filia, her eyes seeming to glow white from her fury screamed in rage at the near miss and said something in Dragon. Ayn snapped into an immediate rage and snarled something back and immediately pressed her attack, flail swinging.

Milgasa winced as if in pain. "Huh?" said Gourry who was standing near by, not sure if he should intervine or not. Milgasa said "The foul names they just called each other... You humans have no real equivalent..."

Lina came back, and shouted "Filia! What the hell are you doing? We're friends! Please stop it!!"

Filia's only answer was to scream "Die, reptile!" at Ayn and resume her attack. "You first!" Ayn screamed in equal rage and countered. There were some pretty impressive clashes as the two dragons battled it out. They lashed and whirled so fast that although Gourry and Luna stood by to act, there was never an opening long enough that would let Filia be attacked without endangering Ayn. The women were clearly enraged at each other.

It was also clear Filia was tired, very tired, she had to be running on nerves. She couldn't keep it up for long, but she was too high on the battle to know enough to stop. "Filia! You can't win against all of us. Stop, please stop and tell us what's wrong?" pleaded Lina, but the blonde dagon girl seemed not to hear.

As Filia got more exhausted her nervous energy got more and more high strung. Ayn was obviously being careful, but she'd soon have Filia under control, But subduing her would take all their efforts, when the time came. The others stood by to help.

"Look out!" warned Zel, now back on his feet and cradling his healed, but still tender arm. He pointed behind them.

"You!" yelled Luna. "Xellos?" asked Lina. "Oh yes..." replied Milgasa.

"FILIA!" barked Xellos. "I told you to stop. What's this? Cease now!" He seemed to ignore the others.

Filia gasped in exhaustion "But master Xellos, I can win..."

Xellos opened his eyes and let the evil shock out. The humans stepped back and Sylphiel even fell to her knees from it. Milgasa seemed a bit stunned. Only Ayn seemed not to notice as she handily countered a blow from Filia and managed to crack her over the head so she fell stunned to the ground. But her triumph was short lived as Xellos opened his hand and cast a spell that dropped her in her turn.

Luna exploded into action and lept screaming at Xellos, swinging her blade in a killing stroke. But Xellos was Xellos and he wasn't there...

He was beside Filia scooping her up in his arms. His look was so fierce even Lina hesitated and didn't cast a spell. She knew Xellos was bad, but she hadn't totally grasped how bad...

Luna launched again, but Xellos just simply faded into the Astral Plane a tenth of a second from the stroke, taking Filia with him...

Luna expressed her outrage by demonstrating that maybe, just maybe, there actually was a human translation to what Filia and Ayn had said to each other, you just had to use sentences.

No, paragraphs...

After the battle and after the calming down, they decided they knew enough and returned to the palace to report. There was no question. Filia was alive, and obviously she was under the control of the mazoku. They knew they had to attempt a rescue, and the sooner the better. Tommorrow then...

As they sat to supper, special guests at Prince Phil, and Amelia's, table that night they were finally all calm enough to discuss the days events rationally. Ayn had her hair done up in a pretty, but somewhat lopsided style, trying to hide the large chunk of short hair her near miss had left her with. She didn't seem exactly thrilled, but did reluctantly admit, finally, that she was willing to forgive a mind controlled slave Filia for the insults and attack, after she got better of course...

"That's the spirit!" enthused Luna, with her trademark smirk. "Ayn the Magnanimous!"

"And don't you forget it!" warned Ayn, huffily. Yup, it sounded like she was all better again... 


	9. Chapter 9

During the course of the meal Phil observed something. "Lina, you seem disheartened somehow. What's the matter?"

"W-what? Oh, hahahahaha, no, no, I'm just tired from the events of the day, that's all..." she said, uncomfortably, trying to cover.

"What's up Sis? It's okay, tell us." put in Luna, in a rather rare, tender mood.

Lina sighed. "Oh well, it's stupid, I know, but I was just thinking that if none of this had happened I'd be getting ready to get married about now. The date set, the dress about finished, Mom running around in her glory fussing over the fine touches like only she can..." She stopped, glanced at Gourry, and blushed, obviously thinking about something else as well.

"I hear you, sis, and I'm so sorry. I'd offer to tease you like I would normally be doing if that was all that was going on, but I just know Ayn would likely actually hurt this time when she belted me for it." she said with a smirk.

"Well, why don't we spare Lina the teasing and just get to the good stuff?" said Ayn, giving Luna solid, and yes, painfull punch in the arm.

"Yeouch! Hey, wasn't I good? I said I wasn't going to tease her..." pouted Luna as she rubbed her arm and frowned at a now smiling Ayn.

Phil rumbled into action. "Well, may I suggest an alternative solution, Lina?" Lina blinked, looked puzzled and nodded.

"Get married here, now, and have atleast one night before you go on your mission tommorrow."

"Oh yeah! Daddy! That's a good idea! A wedding!" enthused Amelia. "I wanna be the flower girl! No, the bridesmaid, no, oh I don't know! Ha, ha, ha!"

"B-but..." said Lina, sounding confused and uncertain.

"Let me explain my offer." said Phil in an unusually tender, and quiet, tone. "I know what it is to be in love. I realise my usual justice persona doesn't lend itself to that image, but I do have a soft side..."

"Oh Daddy! You're all softy!"Amelia smiled.

"Daughter!" he said, with a tear in his eye. Then he caught himself. "Oh, but I digress... I also know the loss of love, Lina. I almost died inside when my wife was taken from me, so many years ago, and not just instantly on the night she was taken, but also over the months and years afterwards as life happened, and I was reminded from time to time of my loss."

Lina tried to follow all this, but Phil was just as bombastic with his "tender side" as with all the others, it seemed. Still, she held a polite smile, might as well not insult the guy, he was trying to go somewhere... wasn't he?

Phil went on. "What helped me the most were my memories of our time, and our love, together. I realised that carrying on was the best possible way to honour the woman who ment the world to me, and more."

Lina said "I appreciate this, but I'm not quite sure where we are going, Phil, and it's a bit, well, scary, all this death talk..."

Phil nodded. "I do tend to do that don't I? Lina, you and Gourry are going on a dangerous mission tommorrow. There is a great chance atleast one of you won't come back, this is the sister of Phibrizzo after all. You were almost lost then, you can't count on good luck twice, you know."

Lina gulped. Yeah, she had had a thought or two about her own mortality in this, and Gourry's...

Phil continued. "I am offering you a chance to have a night together now, as what you want to be, man and wife. If you both survive, which I most certainly hope and pray will be the outcome, you can have the biggest, happiest public wedding ever when you get home. If something goes wrong, the survior will remember that you had atleast one night of wedded bliss. It helped me to have such memories Lina, I offer them to you. I realise you can take it the other way, and mourn all the harder for what might have been, instead of be comforted by what was. You must figure out which you prefer, but if you'd like, Lina, I can marry you two now, quietly, and get you started."

Lina was flabbergasted. "Th-th-th... that made sense..." she said. She looked around. "I don't know what to do..."

Luna spoke. "Well, with your sister here, it's not like you eloped Lina. I think it would be a great idea, be happy while you can..." She started strong, but mysteriously ended in a gulp.

Ayn spoke next. "I don't know, mourning what might have been can be pretty destructive, but if you can handle that, memories do help. I can't say what's right or wrong from that perspective, but, to be in love, and act on it, properly of course, that is never wrong. How do you feel about it?"

Lina shook her head. "I, I can't decide, they both have merits..."She turned at last to her groom and took his hands in hers as she looked into his eyes. "G-Gourry, I'm good with either way, what do you want to do? And please, just this once, don't try to do what you think I want, to make me happy, tell me what you want..."

"And please get what I just said..." she thought to herself...

It sounded like Luna was starting to say something about "Way to duck the issue, Sis..." but Ayn suddenly noticed something in Luna's ear that needed investigation, and that required her to pinch Luna's ear and twist it. "Being good, being good..." Luna quickly reassured her...

Meanwhile, Gourry pondered. You could see the wheels, almost...

Then, "Well, if it's truely alright with you Lina," he said quietly "I... want to marry you."

"Done!" said Lina as she threw herself into his arms and kissed him full on the mouth, not caring, for once, that there were people watching.

"Yeah!!" shouted Amelia. She lept up and grabbed Lina. When the mage protested Amelia said "Come on silly, we don't have long, don't you want a dress atleast?"

"Ill help there!" volunteered Luna as she got up. "Coming Ayn?" she asked.

"Meh," said Ayn. "No, go on, have your fun, just don't be too cruel to her. As for me, I'm going to be the mother of the groom and rage helplessly aginst the foul temptress who stole my son..." Luna giggled as Lina sweatdropped about that one...

Sylphiel stood up. "Your Majesty, may I pick some flowers from the royal garden? There should atleast be a bouquet for the bride, yes?" Phil smiled and said she could pick them all if she wanted.

"I see you leave getting him ready to me." said Zelgadiss. "Since when did I get to be best man?" He turned to Milgasa and asked "And will you be the father of the groom then?"

Milgasa showed he did so have a sense of humour and said "Actually, I'd like to be the party crasher who sneaks in for the food, and the chicks." He said it so dryly and seriously that it took some of the others a bit of time to figure out why Ayn broke out into laughter.

"And we will be the spectators then, shall we?" said Jilas. Gavos asked "In the bride's party, or the groom's?" They settled on one each...

Phil rumbled "You don't have spectators at a wedding, it's not a sport."

"It can be where we come from." countered Gavos. Amazingly, he seemed serious...

Eventually order was made of the chaos and a small chapel was prepared. They even found a small impromptu band.

Gourry was in some borrowed spruced up finery, as well as something, old, something new, and, as usual, something blue, and he stood at the front with Zel beside him. He managed to appear nervous. Okay! This was going to work?

There was the inevitable delay, Ayn offered to make a bet with Milgasa about how many kilotons the Dragon Slave would be, but eventually there was a rustle in the halls, and the bridal party arrived. Sylphiel seemed to have taken Phil at his word about the flowers as she came in first and sprinkled several handfuls of petals on the bridal path. Luna was standing to Lina's right, taking the place of their absent father. Amelia kept getting hidden from view, as she seemed to have drawn the duty of holding Lina's train. "Well, it was your idea!" insisted the bride at one point, as there was some apparent muffled protest from Amelia.

And, there she was, Lina. The oufit they had hastily made was obviously cobbled together from off the hanger bits and pieces, but someone had used a skillful eye to make a very pretty arrangement of it. There was even the standard veil and the afore-mentioned train. Lina looked nervous. Well, atleast she matched Gourry.

The band struck up a reasonable version of a popular wedding march, and they started forward. At the prescribed distance they stopped and bowed to Prince Phil who was at the front, ready to officiate. A couple of more steps and Luna was beside Gourry, ready to hand Lina to him. "You sure about this, now? she asked. "Last chance..."

Lina's eyes flashed in anger and she stamped her foot. Luna had been talking to Gourry...

Gourry only had eyes for Lina. She was so beautiful. Not that she wasn't any other time, but this was one of those moments that just brought it home to him. He didn't even seem to hear Luna, perhaps the best answer of all. He held out his hand and Lina slipped hers into it. They went the last few steps forward and bowed to Prince Phil again.

He rumbled in to life, said a few expected words on the sanctity of marriage, got off on a minor tangent about the Justice of it all, got hauled back on line by Amelia, and then asked all the right questions, got the right responses, and, well...

Pronounced them Man and Wife!

After the dining room incident, the official first kiss was surprisingly easy and the happy couple were hauled off to a makeshift party. Lina was a little worried, but the sight of all the desserts and other treats soon paid for that. They ate and laughed and drank the right toasts. The thing did't take too long, there was an invisible guest in the form of the clock, after all, but they were determined to have the form atleast, even if the substance was nessessarily thin.

Luna topped the evening in a way that, well, was very personal to Lina, though not for the usual reason. Near the end of the little party she said she had a gift!

For the groom??

She stood in the center of attention and whipped out a hair brush, of all things. Lina immediately gasped and turned pale...

Luna wasn't about to be stopped, and launched into a combination story/explanation. "Several year ago, my sister proved what a dynamic entrepenure she was by launching an unique business enterprise, using her very own sister to make money! An impressive feat!"

Lina gave a strangled gasp. "L-Luna! What, why?..."

Her sister seemed not to hear her. "Of course there were, as with so many fledgling ventures, a few technical glitches, and alas they ultimately lead to the demise of the little venture. The chief of these was the fact that she..."

Here Lina just buried her head in her hands. "Luna, how could you?" she whispered.

Luna continued. "... was Shadow Projecting images of her sister to a paying audience, while said sister, at age fourteen, happened to be taking a shower."

There was the expected gasp, but Luna forestalled any comments by insisting "Now, don't get ahead of me. Hear me out. Naturally, she got caught. Her parents, in a wise move designed to forestall Lina's early demise at the hands of her sister, hit on a cunning plan and, after rescuing Lina from the improptu punishment said sister was delivering decided to let said sister be the one to deliver the, I'm sure you will agree, much deserved spanking, using this very hairbrush as a matter of fact. But something akin to a miracle happened. Lina blubbed so badly that even her aggrieved sister relented and a bargain was struck. If Lina would promise not to piss off said sister ever again, said sister would let her go. If Lina ever failed, said sister would come and finish the job, wherever, and whenever. With accumulating interest. I'm happy to say that so far, so good, poor Lina's tender little tushie remains well behaved, and unbruised."

"But now, Lina has had a change of circumstances. Someone new has shown up on the scene, and has taken on the responsibility of managing the worlds most beautiful, and dramatic, sorcery genius. I wish to give him a tool to help in his task of keeping Lina Inver..., no... Lina Gabriev now, safe for the rest of us. And so, with Lina's promise, sworn on this very hairbrush infact, and with all the rights, and responsibilities that go with it, I pass this brush, a sort of symbolic torch if you will, to Gourry. Here you go, Bro-in-Law, use it well, lives may depend on it..."

Gourry seemed perplexed, like he hadn't followed much of what Luna had said. But he did step forward and take the brush. Lina hissed, then said in a worried voice "Gourry??"

The rest of the group seemed stunned, well, except Ayn, who just glared daggers at Luna. "Later... later..." her glare seemed to suggest.

Gourry stared at the brush for awhile, as if taking it in, then finally he said "Well, if I understand it, this is actually something valuable. So," he said in a happy voice, "I will just do with it what I do with all my valuable things and put it in the safest place in the world."

The gang looked on in silence.

Gourry walked over to Lina and held out the brush. "Here Lina, you always keep our treasures safe, please add this to the lot."

The room exploded in laughter and cheers as Lina, looking stunned, took the dreaded object of psychological torrment, now hers to command... Finally she started to laugh too.

Luna came up from behind and hugged her. She whispered into Lina's ear "I always felt he was the right one sis, now I know for sure."

Lina blinked and frowned as a stress mark marred her forehead "That was a test??" she asked. "Sheesh."

"Yep, and my last chance at vengance..." teased Luna.

Lina sweat dropped, then cocked an eye at her sister and said "I am so going to get Ayn to teach me that word she used..." Luna laughed.

There was a call for the couple to kiss, and after that, Lina needed no coaxing.

At this time a servant appeared and announced the bridal suite was ready. That was the signal to escort the new happy couple to their wedding bed, and all entered into it with a will. Even the gloomy Zel and reserved Milgasa went along for the walk. Lina opened the door, dragged Gourry in quickly, said a polite but short thank you and slammed the door in their faces.

After agreeing that that seemed rude the gang started to wander away. A short way down the hall they heard the door open and Lina called out "Hey! We almost forgot! Catch!" They turned, just in time to see her toss her bouquet at them. Several hands reached for it with Amelia being the most enthusiastic, but the one who caught it was the one who wasn't trying for it, it just happened to fly at her and she instinctively grabbed for it to stop it from hitting her face.

"Oh my..." blinked Sylphiel in surprise, looking at the flowers in her hand.

Amelia seemed a bit put out, but the others just giggled. The princess consolled herself by linking her arm in Zel's and hauling him off to have more cake, whether he wanted it or not. He sighed, then played the gracious escort...

The party continued until they all went to bed. Needless to say, they saw no more of Lina and Gourry until later the next morning...

In the meantime, on an ominous island in the ocean, deep inside an impregnable fortress hollowed out of a tower of solid stone, someone else was also having a life changing experience.

Filia knelt before Beastmaster as Xellos detailed her disobedience and near death. She was nervous yes, but strangely restless as well. Still, she did her best to look humble and contrite. Zelas was her Mistress after all.

"Explain yourself." Zelas said curtly, frowning at Filia. "I have invested a great deal in you, little one, why this rebellion? You have been getting careless of late."

Filia gulped. "I-I know, Mistress, but I don't know the cause. I really don't. All I know is that I come back from missions lately feeling strangely full of energy, even when I'm exhausted. And when battle is upon me, I tend to lose my head a bit. A lot this last time. But I don't know why. I just wanted to kill, and kill, and kill."

"And you didn't think to tell anyone?" snapped Beastmaster, angrily.

"I, I didn't know what to say..." she said. A tear trickled from her eye. She threw herself on the floor at Beastmasters feet. "Punish me Mistress, I am unworthy of you." she cried.

Whatever Zelas had been about to say stopped in her throat. It wasn't often that anyone asked her for punishment. She was Greater Beast ZelasMetallium, after all... She sighed and looked to Xellos.

"Battle madness?" he suggested.

She looked thoughtful. "Possible, very possible. Right, well, we know the treatment for that, don't we?" she said. Xellos nodded. "I shall prepare." he said. Zelas nodded in her turn and Xellos left.

When they were alone she knelt before the prostrate Filia and lifted the dragon girl's head so that she could look her in the eyes. "I see no guile." she said quietly as she stared into Filia's soft blue eyes. "I believe you, Filia, you aren't being bad on purpose. Well, then, what to make of this? Battle madness is a condition where the mind disconnects from the body and drives it as if they were separate entities. Good in some circumstances, you feel no pain, no exhaustion, and your senses seem sharpened somehow. But you forget the body and mind are really one, the two different sides of the coin called the soul. The treatment isn't pleasant, little Filia. The mind has to be reminded of the body, and the best way is through pain. I am sorry, Filia, but you are going to be whipped, long and hard, until your mind remembers it cannot lose touch with the body. Do you understand this?"

Fear lit up in Filia's eyes. It was true that since the first night, when she was tested, she had been allowed to play cruel games with the various slaves, and others, on the island, and had rather come to like it. Whipping was fun after all. Who knew? Ah, but that was only if you were not the one on the receiving end...

But, she also knew who she had commited her life to. And of her own free will too. It was simply unthinkable to ask for any sort of mercy. No, the way to make this grevious fault up to Beastmaster was brave, but humble, acceptance. "Thank You Mistress, I yield at once to your wisdom." she said softly. "I really do wish to please you, but I am so imperfect..."

Zelas shushed her at that point. "That, is not for you to decide. Apology accepted, but we still need to treat you." Filia nodded.

Xellos returned and announced all was ready. Filia got up and went to him so he could take her to the dungeon. "I will come shortly, Xellos, wait for me." Zelas commanded. Xellos bowed. "Filia," she said as they turned to go.

"Mistress?" the girl said, turning to Zelas and bowing.

The Mazoku lord spoke. "To show you I really do care, I have decided that I will whip you myself."

Filia bowed so low she almost seemed to touch the ground. Xellos then lead her off.

Zelas gave them time to set up. It would be more dramatic. She smoked a cigarette to mark the time. And she thought, as she waited. She was sure she was missing something, Filia had most of the signs of battle madness, but not all. Something was wrong. Still, the treatment needed to be tried. Zelas sighed, and left for the dungeon.

Filia was there, naked. Her hair had been done up off her neck with combs, and her hands lifted high in shackles. There was nothing between her skin and anything Beastmaster wanted to do to it. Zelas couldn't help but notice how pretty she was. Still, this was her servant and a not completely satisfacory one, at that. As hard as it was to be a Mistress, there were times when duty called...

She tried very hard not to smile at that...

She studied the various whips and floggers that Xellos had prepared, and opted for an old reliable, a twelve foot Bullwhip. She cracked it in the air a couple of times. Yep, she still had it...

She examined Filia before she started and discovered, amazingly, that the dragon girl was in fact, NOT shackled, but was holding the chain. "She insisted, she said it would help her focus. I thought I'd leave it to you." explained Xellos.

"Yes, focus, on holding the chain. Not what I want, I want the pain of the body to be the focus. I don't blame you for trying, Filia, this time, mind, but the answer is "No." said Beastmeaster.

Filia hung her head as Xellos snapped the shackles in place. When she was secure, Zelas spent some time running her hands over Filia's body, touching everywhere. Yes, everywhere. By the time she was done she was begining to breath hard, which was remarkable for something that took so little physical effort.

She broke away and took three steps back then without warning turned and delivered a viscious crack dead across the dragon girl's exposed back. The pain shot through Filia like lightning, entering at the point of impact, and exiting her through her mouth as she screamed in surprise and agony. If she had had any illusions about "bravely taking it" they were just shattered. Yes, from the first stroke until the last, Filia suffered greatly, but, that is what it was to have Greater Beast ZelasMetallium's hand on the whip.

The lashes fell fast and steadily, ramping up the pain with each blow. Soon, Filia was unable to help herself and she began to turn and move, trying to duck the blows. Not a good idea. Beastmaster didn't seem to care if the lashes hit back, or front, and Filia's poor breasts and belly were cut deeply by some of the blows. At least Zelas didn't concentrate the blows on just one area, and the poor dragon girl was soon stripped from her knees to her shoulders, both front and back, with blood oozing from some of the lashes. The walls rang like a bell echoing her screams.

As this happened Zelas seemed strangely affected too. An evil light glowed in her eyes and she giggled, then even laughed, with every scream of the captive girl. If anything, the blows seemed to increase in ferocity with time. She even began to perspire from the exertion and soon her slinky tight dress was clinging to her from sweat, and she seemed almost as naked as Filia.

Xellos realised they had a problem at about this time. His mother was almost certainly waiting for Filia to beg for mercy. It was something she liked, people cravenly humiliating themselves before her. Filia wasn't begging, and Zelas was begining to take it as a challenge, forgetting why she was whipping Filia to begin with. But what Xellos realised, was that poor, unsophisticated (by mazoku standards) Filia would trust her Mistress to stop when she thought she had received enough punishment and so, with no guile, the thought of begging never entered her pain struck mind.

So, how to stop Beast Master? This had to be worded carefully...

"So, Mother, Filia will, of course need a rest after this, how long do you want me to postpone the further attacks of the Destroying Angel for?" he asked in a matter of fact voice.

Zelas stopped in mid stroke and after a little spasm, turned to Xellos with a dangerous glare. "What?" she hissed.

"No offence mother, but I was just wondering, after this much well deserved punishment, Filia will be physically unable to fight at anywhere near her best until she's had a chance to heal. I'm not talking about the pain going away or anything silly, but she would lose a fight and die if we send her out too soon, so, how long do you want her off for?" Now he came to his point. "After all, Filia is a good girl and will take as well as she can all the punishment you give her, because she knows she needs it, so it's up to you when you stop, but the more you hit her, the longer she will be off for, and I need to know, is all."

Zelas took the point, that Filia was meekly accepting her punishment, not resisting Zelas. She trembled, and her left hand had to go over to her right hand to force it to let go of the whip. After she had dropped it she stared in shock at the hand for a long time. She then went over and traced one of the deeper whip marks with her hand, picking up a drop of blood on her finger. She tasted it and her eyes went wide with surprise. She stared at Filia. What had she been doing?

"We're done, and she can take all the time she needs, you decide..." she said. "Help her, and send her to bed, give her any medicine you think will help..." She turned and left the chamber. She seemed to be thinking about something.

Filia was still crying in pain through all of this. Xellos went up and quietly soothed her, calling her a good and wonderful girl who had more than fulfilled all her Mistress needed her to do. He praised he courage in taking so meekly what had to be. Oh yes, his silver tongue got a real polishing...

But it worked. Filia calmed under his care. "N-now you wash me, right?" she asked quietly. Xellos hmm'd and said "Well that's what I do to the slaves, the hot salt water adds to the punishment, but it also helps them heal faster. But for you..."

"No." said Filia. "No favourites. I must heal fast so I may resume my duties. Please, wash me too, m-my Lord Xellos..." she begged.

Xellos seemed surpised. "Well, but, well, if you wish it, I can't deny you will heal fairly quickly. Okay, I told you it hurts, as long as you can bear it..."

"I can, but pardon my screams." she replied.

Xellos prepared the tub of almost scalding water with a hugh amount of salt in it. Indeed, the ocean itself would seem as fresh water by comparison to the brine he made.

Before he started he asked "Filia, where does your determination come from, to do this?"

Filia smiled faintly, and even made a feeble joke. "Well, my Lord, it isn't wagon science (true rockets not having been invented yet... though Jilas was nearing a breakthrough...), I died the day they took Val from me. The Mistress gave me a new life. Now I live only for her. I have no other reason to exist. I have turned my back on my own kind and joined the so called great enemy. I have slaughtered them and even hypocritically smashed eggs in my turn, what is left for me? Only to live to please my Mistress. That is why I can bear this, it is for her glory, and I worship her. I am her willing slave, not like the poor, pathetic elves, enslaved by their weakness, I enslave myself, through love. And through love, I wish to serve. To serve I must heal. Please, don't worry about the pain, make me better, so I may serve."

Xellos could only nod. Fascinating. If only he had known this about her earlier...

"Here we go then." he said, diping his rag in the water. "Xellos?" she asked, just before he started. "Where is that shard? The one from Val's egg I almost killed myself with? I don't want to die now, but I would like to see it once more, and remember." "I believe the Mistress took it for safe keeping. I will ask." he replied, gently.

He washed her then. He was right. It hurt. She was right. She screamed. Eventually, she passed out. Xellos took her down and carried her to her room. The elf maids were ready and fearfully took her and laid her in the bed. "Treat her well." he ordered, handing them a vial of a soothing, healing ointment. They bowed in fright, and in wonder, to see their own mistress (Zelas had lent them to Filia as her own maids) laid low, like one of them after they had been similarily punished. They treated her as best they could, rubbing the ointment in to her violated flesh very gently. She couldn't bear the touch of a gown, and lay there, unable to settle, crying out with the pain from time to time.

Xellos went and reported all to Beastmaster, who was now back in control of herself. "She asked for the shard, did she?" said the Mistress of Wolfpack Island in a thoughful voice. "I had suspected this day would come." She went to another room and opened a chest. She took out the shard. It had been made into a necklace, a silver clasp holding the crystal shard, and a silver chain looping around to hold it on Filia's neck. "Do you think she will like it?" Zelas smiled at Xellos. When he nodded she said "I will give it to her now."

As they walked to the bedroom Xellos ventured a question "When you tasted her blood, you seemed surprised at something. May I ask what you suspect?"

Zelas was silent for a moment then said "I will not say, just now, I need to test it yet. Be patient, Mommy will let you in on all the deliciousness, once I find out what it is..." She smiled at him as she said this. He bowed.

Arriving at the door they entered. The elf maids backed away and bowed on bent knees. "Please leave us." said Zelas. The elves dissappeared, wondering at the fact that Zelas had said "please" to them. "You too, Xellos, I wish to talk to Filia alone." Xellos wondered at that, but also left.

"Filia..." said Beastmaster gently, going over to the girl on the bed. Filia had been in a restless, painful doze, but awoke to Zelas calling her name. At once she tried to rise, but Zelas made her stay. They compromised with Filia sitting up in the bed, trying to cover up.

"No, no, don't. It's alright my sweet, relax. You are far better served in your own skin that in the fanciest dress anyway. Did anyone ever tell you how utterly beautiful you are?" asked the Greater Beast.

Filia shook her head no, glancing nervously at her Mistress. Zelas took something from her dress. "Here, this is yours. I've had it prepared for this day, when you'd want it back." She held up the shard. Filia's eyes popped open wide as she took it. She started crying softly as Zelas helped her put it on. She willingly let her Mistress hug her gently as she wept in gratitude.

Zelas tenderly took her servant's face in her hands. "Filia.." she whispered. "You have been through so much lately that is bad. But life isn't bad, not all of it. I'd like to show you something that is good, so very good. Will you trust me? I won't do it if you don't want me to..."

Filia nodded. "I trust you, your Maj...

She was stopped by the Greater Beast's finger on her lips. "Zelas. For tonight only, just between us, call me Zelas. Please." she said.

Filia gulped, then nodded. "Yes, Zelas." she said.

"My name, on your lips, I can hear the honey on them." smiled Zelas. She hugged Filia close to her. "Let me taste it, please." she said, softly, as she drew Filia into a long, lingering kiss. There was a slight shock on Filia's part as she realised what was happening, then, willingly, she surrendered to her Mistress, who spent the rest of the night gently blowing her little Filia's mind... 


	10. Chapter 10

Xellos was puttering about the next morning. As usual. He had made it to the dias room when there was a soft astral disturbance and his Mistress suddenly appeared on the dias, looking exhausted, and exceedingly happy.

Hmmm, now, was that a good sign??

"I take it you had a good night, Mistress?" he asked.

"Oh Ho! Mommy had a most wonderful night, Xelly-kins, a most wonderful night indeed..." Zelas chuckled. "Well, I have some research to do, but I know what Filia's basic problem is, she need some breeding! Oh, doesn't she just though! It took me, me of all beings, all night to ride her to the proverbial stand still!"

Xellos cocked an eye. "You don't say? Well, between you and the three elves..." he said.

Zelas laughed long and loud at that idea before replying "No. I know I can please her, but I know I am also missing something about what's driving her in the first place. That was a great load of hormones I tasted in her blood last night when I licked my finger, there is no way she can normally be that loaded or her sex drive would be all consuming. No, something is going on. Ahh, if only brother Gaav were still alive, he'd know. He didn't take on the dragons form without become aware of the dragons nature. Oh well, I must do some research..."

"Library duty then, is it?" said Xellos with a smirk.

Zelas smirked back. "I'll tackle this, it will let me rest up for tonight. She was a very good girl and thanked me very proffusely, then shyly asked me if I might honour her again tonight. I think I might, but I tell you Xellos, if this keeps up, I might have to break off a bit of my sensuous nature and give it to you, along with some, oh how shall I call them, "manly parts"? Then you can spell me off." She broke out into a laugh.

Xellos smiled. His Mistress had such a twisted sense of humour...

"Well, I think I can fake all of that as good as any Mazoku can, yourself excepted, of course, Mistress. But I must admit, real sex would be a new experience for me." he said. "Of course, to make sure I do it right, I'll need some lessons first..." he teased.

"Hmmmm, don't think I haven't been tempted at times..." said Beastmaster with a naughty tone. "Honestly though, I don't know what daddy was thinking when he decided to give me a sensuous nature. It's a real two edge sword. Sex can be so wonderful and so powerful, but it can be terribly weakening too, and I don't just mean the physical exhaustion. It can bind you emotionally to your lover, and, for those races that can indulge in true love, it can make that love grow stronger, though it doesn't seem to be able to create the emotion by itself. A lot of people have gone down in flames through the misuse of making out..." she said.

She went on, being serious for a time. "I asked Filia what was going on, but she's never had anything like this happen to her before, she simply doesn't know. She said her mother never had a chance to teach her anything before she died, and now she has no one to go to for help. But she likes the sensation, he, he..."

After a pause, Zelas sighed. "Xellos, we need a manly dragon, or appropriate substitute, that's all there is to it..."

Xellos nodded. "Allow me to look, Mistress..." he said.

Zelas waved him off with a little leer, and Xellos left on his mission...

Meanwhile, at the palace in Seirune, the several adventurers gathered for breakfast. Lina and Gourry were notable by their absence...

"Well, has Sis finally found an appetite bigger than her one for food?" giggled Luna.

"You'd know about that of course?" said a sarcastic Ayn.

"Hey, I was just asking, wasn't I?" said Luna. "Besides, I think it's wonderful if she has, she should be happy." She paused, then added "Oh, just one thing..."

"I didn't hear that from you, yeah, I got it..." finished Ayn with a chuckle as Luna nodded.

"Why do I get the feeling you two would be such good buddies with Xellos?" asked Zelgadiss as he buttered a piece of toast. Amelia who was next to him gasped, then tried not to giggle.

"The answer to that, would be a secret..." replied Milgasa dryly. He was at the table more for form, as dragons got most of their energy from absorbing magic directly, but they did need to eat a meal about once a month to provide food to their bodies. And of course, they were free to nibble any time they wanted to, as Filia had shown with her little tea and cookie parties.

"Oh, give over..." muttered Ayn as Luna frowned and added a sharp "Hey!"

Zel sighed. "I was teasing, sheesh, and people think I'm sensitive..."

They were distracted as Sylphiel entered the room along with Phil himself. She quietly took an empty seat and began to daintily serve herself from the food on the table. Phil went to Amelia and rumbled into action.

"Daughter, I must talk to you..." he said.

"Uh, sure thing Daddy." said Amelia looking a bit startled. "What about?"

Phil nodded to a side room.

"Oh? Alone? Uh, okay..." said Amelia, sounding perplexed as she got up and went with him.

"So, how are you today, Miss Sylphiel?" asked Zel, trying to smooth over the awkwardness of Phil and Amelia.

The shrine maiden smiled as she lifted some toast and before biting replied "I'm quite well, thank you for asking Mr. Zelgadiss. And you look well too." She looked around. "I take it our, um, happy couple hasn't joined us yet?" she asked politely.

"Nope! Still being happy!" chirpped Luna.

"Or atleast still sleeping it off..." smirked Ayn.

Sylphiel gave a slightly embarassed giggle. Milgasa just sighed.

"What?" said Ayn, cocking an eye at him as if challenging him, but he just sipped at his tea.

"Maybe he's envious?" said Luna, giving Ayn a little dig.

"And I'm supposed to do something about that?" asked Ayn, incredulously.

"Oh, go on, like you haven't thought of it..." said Luna with a big grin.

"Oh? How would you know? No wait! Don't answer that, it'll be wrong, but so wrong I'll never live it down..." Ayn replied, going rapidly from sarcastic to worried...

"Ha! Scardy cat..." smiled Luna.

"Dragon..." corrected Ayn.

"So, what are the plans for the day?" asked Zel, trying to turn the conversation away from profound silliness...

"We fly to Wolfpack island and take Filia back!" enthused Luna, causing Ayn to roll her eyes.

Sylphiel sighed. "Would that it were that simple..." she said softly. "When should we leave?"

Zel looked surprised. "Oh, and you are joining us then?" he asked.

Sylphiel nodded. "His Majesty requested that I join you so that you would have a white healer if you needed one." she explained.

"Huh?" asked a perplexed Zel. "Uh, I mean, you are more than welcome, but I thought that's why Amelia was coming?"

Sylphiel gave a sad smile. "Actually, I believe that is what Prince Phil is discussing with her right now." she replied. "Apparently he doesn't want his last remaining heir going deliberately into danger."

Zel scratched his head about that. "He's let her go in the past..." he observed.

"Yes, but he never knowingly let her go into great danger." Sylphiel said. "I asked him all those questions when he came to me, and he said he didn't mind her going out and practicing her magic as she administered justice, but he would not let her go into high danger, such as fighting a Mazoku High Lord. He admitted to having nightmares for a long time after she came home and told about how she accidentally got caught up into the fights with Lord Gaav, and Lord Hellmaster, not to mention the business with Mr. DarkStar..."she said, fading off as if a chill blew across her spirit at the mention of the evil names...

"Yes, I somewhat see his point..." observed Zel slowly. "I mean, with Gracia gone, and no guarentee she'll ever be back, assuming she's even still alive, that is, if something happened to Amelia, well, I don't know, how easy would it be for him to get yet another heir, not to mention the extreme grief of losing his last link with his dead Queen..."

There was some silence at the table as they all pondered this.

"By the way, Lord Milgasa, what did you learn from the oracles?" asked Ayn, being serious for a change.

Milgassa nodded and replied "Well, generically speaking, "Doom looms, dearly beloved, doom looms...""

"That's, uh, helpfull..."said Ayn.

"They believe war is now unavoidable. I was too late, and being only one dragon, I can't do much anyway, not against all our peoples." was the sad response.

"Two..." said Ayn quietly, as she gave Luna a pleading look. Luna nodded in response. Yes, they were with Milgasa.

There was a moment of silence, then Milgasa spoke again."I thank you for that, ladies, but I see no way for three of us to stop the dragon race from going temporarily mad, it seems to be something we must get out of our system, hateful as it is. Alas, had Phibrizzo not destroyed the entrance to the Claire Bible that my dragons and I had spent so long guarding we might have had a cross tribal force to be reconned with, for dragons of all the four great tribes shared equally in guarding it, but alas again, they are now scattered to the four winds and I cannot ever get them back."

He sighed softly."I can only see one mission I can do now, small as it is. I must try to keep Beastmaster's new pet, the Destroying Angel, from fanning the flames any more."

"We!" said Ayn with conviction.

Luna stood up and held out her sword Charm "Us! You have my sword." she said, with equal conviction.

"And mine." said Zel quietly but firmly as he stood up and slapped his full sized sword. He was one of the few people in the world who was allowed to goabout armed, even in the palace of Seirune itself.

"My magic is at your service too." said Sylphiel as she also stood. "And yes, I know it's dangerous, but I'm not an heir apparent, so please let's not have that argument..."

"Not from me you won't." said Zel. "I've seen you in action, you are as brave and as capable as anyone here."

"uh? Really?" said Sylphiel with a blush, and a smile. She wasn't the best with praise, but she liked it as well as anyone.

"Good enough for me. We're all in then." said Luna. "But only for as long as you want, there can be no oath except that of not deserting in the heat of battle. All I ask is you do it before or after."

"Fair enough." said Milgasa, quietly, as the others nodded.

Then, there being no more to say, they sat back down and tried to resume breakfast.

There were soft footsteps, and then...

"Hey! You better have left lots of breakfast! Some of us are hungry!" said an extremely cheerful Lina as she and Gourry arrived fashionbly late. At least, that was their story...

They looked, well, how else? Tired, but happy. Very, very happy...

"We were just debating that." said Luna, beating everyone to it, and sounding extremely serious. "I'm sure it's a known fact that eating when you are happy is a bad thing, is it not Miss Sylphiel?" she asked.

Sylphiel gulped her tea and tried to be equally serious. "Fatal, from what I've heard..." she replied.

"Then I'll die happy!" enthused Lina as she pulled up to the table and began piling it on. Gourry sat beside her, looking a little more stunned than usual.

"Sleep well?" Zel asked him, with a rare chimeric smirk.

"Uh well, actually..." he began.

"F Crs hdid!" replied Lina, her mouth full, in a bid to cut off Gourry's answer. Like she was going to spill details. Here. Now, at breakfast. In front of Luna. Or anyone else, for that matter. Ever...

"Oh..." said Zel. "Then I take it that it wasn't all it's cracked up to be?" he asked, sounding serious.

Lina gulped fast and spluttered angrily "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uh, well, if he slept well, uh... did you?" Zel replied, giving Lina a serious look as he sounded worried...

"I'll dare say she did." replied Luna, with a nastly little smirk.

"The question is, should she have?" said Ayn with an even nastier smirk.

Sylphiel developed a keen interest in her grapefruit, Milgasa just sighed, again...

Lina glared around, then, slowly, she calmed down and smiled naughtilly. "Well, we both slept very well, very well indeed. But the real question is, to what do we owe our wounderful slumber. And the answer to that, if I may quote a very dear friend of ours, is "That's a secret...""

"Well, atlest she's finally admitting to her treasonous friendship with the mazoku..." said Luna, smiling nastily, as if planning what to do with Lina for being such a turncoat...

"Oooog..." said Lina, banging her face on the table. There was no winning against Luna, ever, but as long as she was turned away from the intimate details of last night, it was worth it.

Luna shot a smirk to Ayn. She'd let Lina off the hook. For now...

"Well, actually, you've arrived just in time." said Ayn, being more serious. "We were about to discuss the plans for the day."

"Uh, sure, but shouldn't we wait for Amelia?"asked Lina.

"Well, actually, Amelia won't be with us." said Zel. "It seems Phil doesn't like letting her go knowingly into mortal peril, so he's sending Sylphiel with us instead."

"Huh?" said Lina, pausing in mid chew...

A brief explanation later and Lina was shaking her head along with the rest of them. "Well, of course we are in too..." she said, thumping Gourry for swiping an egg as she made the mistake of mulling...

"Well, somethings haven't changed, I see..." smiled Zel.

"Oh? What things?" asked Gourry...

Lina reminded him...

Eventually, breakfast ended. It had been decided that the group would fly to a launch point near Wolfpack island then rest, then when they felt it was the right time they'd dash across the channel that separated Zelas' lair from the rest of the world. It wasn't like they could sneak up on her, they could only hope the idea of anyone boldly attacking her stronghold would so surprise her that they could pull a fast one.

"It's worth a shot, but let's not be stupid about it." said Luna, being serious for a change. "Our best hope is to give her a scare and hope she sends her pet to counter attack, then we can catch her. And let's be clear about something, if something happens to anyone on the island, and we get separated, there is a good chance we won't get that person back." The others nodded. They knew it was serious. They also knew they had many reasons for making the attempt.

On their way outside they came across Jilas and Gavos. "We just came t'say goodbye." the foxman explained. "This thing you want t' do is a bit out of our league, I hope you don't mind we aren't in any position to offer to help..."

"Nah, I understand." said Lina, with a smile. "Look, don't go too far, when we get back with Filia the more people who are around to help her remember who she was the better, okay?" she said.

Jilas nodded. "You bet! Anything to help th' boss!" he enthused, loyally.

He might have said more, but at this point a pouty Amelia caught up to them. "Oh, of all the silly things..." she fumed. "I am so sorry guys! Really I am! I don't think it's half the problem Daddy thinks it is! Our cause is just! Our intentions are pure! We cannot fail! Beware ye who..."

"Hey yeah! I'm sorry for you Amelia, we will miss you, but, we gotta get going, okay?" said Lina, hurridly. She felt badly for Amelia, realy, she did, but not badly enough to listen to what promised to be a justice speech that would prove her to indeed be the daughter of Seirune's own Prince Phillionel! They wanted to leave, today, after all...

Amelia nodded bravely, but seemed teary. Hoping it would help Zel went over and hugged her. "I promise to "Justice Punch" someone for you." he teased lightly.

"Really?" said a slightly happier Amelia as she snuggled in for a second. "Thanks..."

Then she grew more serious. "You take care, Zel..." she whispered, catching the chimera's attention by not using the more usual "Mr. Zelgadiss". "Hmmm?" asked Zel. Amelia gulped. "I don't know why, but I have this feeling in my heart that you won't come back to me from this mission. If only I could go with you..."

Zel was a bit stunned. "Well," he finally said, "I will do all in my power to make it not so, but if you are right, then be brave..." He was actually a little put off for words after hearing Amelia say that, but wanted to sound brave for her. On the other hand, Amelia wasn't known for her premonitions, so who knew what this was?

After that they broke free again. A final round of "good byes" and the "away team", as they had jokingly started to call themselves, went out into the open so the dragons could change and they could fly off. And in short order that's just what they did.

They rose into the air and set their course south and west, aiming for a place none of them had ever wanted to visit. Ayn had Luna on her back, as always, and in more ways that one, as usuall, and joining her today were Lina and Sylphiel. Milgasa was, of course, carrying Gourry and Zelgadiss. This flight was different from the one they took to Seirune just a few days ago. It was cloudier, and a bit colder, for one thing. Like the mood of the flyers. This was a mission after all, not a pleasure flight. No poetry, for another thing...

Still there was talk. Zel, having Gourry to himself, asked him about the previous night. Gourry was quite the gentleman and didn't really reveal anything too intimate, but, it was still a good thing Lina didn't hear him. He smiled to himself as Gourry managed to confirm, without meaning to, what Zel already knew, namely, that all teasing aside, Lina was actually red hot when naked, no pun intended. He wondered for just a second where things might have gone if Gourry and Amelia hadn't been there...

One thing for sure, Zel concluded, Luna and her perpetual sarcasm notwithstanding, Gourry and Lina had made out okay.

He remembered to mentally kick himself for that one...

If anyone bore the brunt of hard questioning it was Lina. Luna waited untill they were at least a thousand feet up before she lit into her sister. "Okay, small, red and newly married, you know what we really want to hear, ya gonna spill, or do we get to do this the hard way?" she smirked nastily...

Ayn didn't say anything, to Lina's dissapointment. And Sylphiel's giggling, blushing, but obviously turning her ear to the conversation, didn't help either...

"You sure you of all people wanna hear about this?" Lina asked Sylphiel, hoping to deflect the inevitable.

"Yep!" replied the shrine maiden in a somewhat less than "maidenly" tone... "I want to see if he's doing better with you in reality, or me in fantasy." she forced herself to say, though she turned several shades of red doing so. Lina wasn't sure if she was teasing...

"Trapped now!" said Luna, triumpantly.

"I could always Raywing out of here..." countered Lina.

"Well, run if you must," said Luna with an evil grin "but just remember, you can't hide..."

Lina gulped...

She knew that...

Too well...

"W-well, now, maybe we can have a polite discussion on some of the generalities..." said Lina.

"Yeah." said Luna, cutting her off. "Look, it's simple. I'm a virgin, Miss Sylphiel I'm sure is a virgin, and rumour has it that even...

"Want me to barrel roll?" cut in Ayn...

"No, that's okay..." sweatdropped Luna, which caused Lina's eyes to pop open wide. Her big sister didn't usually get so, um, perturbed...

Luna went on, hastily covering "Uh, anyway, now that you are a woman, Sis, tell us girls, what's it like?"

"Yeah..." rumbled Ayn. "...and tell Luna how it's done..." You didn't have to see her face, you could hear the smirk...

Thankfully, Sylphiel just giggled, and giggled, and...

"With a lot of love, tenderness, and affection, and the sure knowlege you have found the right one..." replied Lina, quietly smiling...

There was a pause, then, three heartfelt sighs...

"Well, I'm sure he's happier with you then..." smiled Sylphiel.

Lina gave her a grateful smile back. "If he had fallen in love with you, Sylphiel, you'd be in heaven now, like I am. And for once, I don't mind admitting to it, shy though I am. I know there will be someone for you too, then you'll know, and my wish for you is that whoever your future man is, he will be so much better for you than Gourry that you will be happy it didn't work out between you two. I am so lucky."

She paused, then added "But I gotta admit this is one hell of a way to spend our honeymoon..."

That brought a round of general laughter. Perhaps it was just as well the guys didn't hear it...

The long day went on, the dragons obviously pacing themselves to the task of carrying passengers. As the sun was westering towards the setting place they at last began the decent.

"About time!" said Lina. "We could have stopped for lunch, I've just about starved to death!"

"You whine like a mule, you are still alive." replied Ayn.

"At least you might have allowed bladder breaks..." said Luna, gritting her teeth.

"Oh my, yes to that..." said Sylphiel, teeth gritted equally hard...

Ayn's reply was to mutter something about people who load up on tea, then to dive towards the ground and say "Fear either makes you clamp up, or let go. Word of warning, any of the latter, and I'm not pulling up..."

She made a perfect, if rapid, landing... Conveniently near some bushes too...

Milgasa looped down nearby, but, guessing the nature of the stop, not so near as to let anything be seen from above. Needless to say, both Zel and Gourry were equally, um, relieved to find their own set of bushes...

Fortunately, there was a small lake nearby, so cleanliness wasn't an issue...

"Well, I think I saw a small town that-a-way." said Ayn, nodding in the general direction.

Milgasa nodded. "Right, about a league off. This will be a good place to change back and we can walk the rest of the way." he replied. So, while the shortlives did the nessessary things, Ayn and Milgasa returned to their human avatars and were standing there looking naturally noble in their robes when the gang returned.

Sylphiel looked at Ayn, a strange longing in her eyes. Ayn raised a curious eyebrow to her. Sylphiel smiled. "I was just thinking, well, and feeling a bit envious really, of your life span and your dragon's power. Where might I take my craft, and my life even, if I had your resourses, Lady..." she said.

"Do not envy me, Lady." replied Ayn, seriously, but with a gentle smile. "Much I have seen, much I have done, and much joy it had given me, it is true. But much grief have I also had to bear in my time, some of which will never heal until I trancend life and pass on..."

"Remember this quote from ancient truth, Miss Sylphiel, it has meant much to me in the three and a half millenia I have already sojourned on the red orb. "It is not how much time we are given, it is what we do with the time we have..." She smiled at Sylphiel and went on "Many a dragon has spent a full ten millenium questing for transendance, and never found it, and some humans seem to just trip over it in an instant. Each race has it's strengths and it's weaknesses, it's abilities, and it's limits, accept what has been given to you, and make the best of them, more than that, no one can do..."

Sylphiel smiled. "I remember my father reading such scriptures in the temple. It reaffirms my belief that truth is universal, but each group, race, and tribe interprets it in it's own way."

Ayn nodded, smiling as well. "Say also that each individual does so and you have it." she said.

"Ah, higher Philosophy..." said Luna with a smile of her own.

"Sounds like something Lina here might have said." said Zelgadiss.

"Oh?" asked Luna.

"Though in her own words, of course..." he went on.

"Ah." she replied.

"Er, Zel, what trouble are you trying to get me into now?" said a nervous Lina.

"Huh? I'm not, Lina, really, over the years I have known you, you have from time to time said some rather profound things."

"Ah, that's my Sis. If nothing else, she is certainly profound!" enthused Luna.

"Er, hey?" said Lina, profoundly wishing she knew where this was going...

Luna laughed gently, which was rare enough, and gave Lina a sisterly hug, even rarer. "Relax Sis! It's a good thing! It means you have a head on your shoulders, and a heart in your breast!"

"Well, I could have told you that much..." said Gourry, seeming a little bored by the whole thing.

"G-Gourry!" said Lina, going from profound to perturbed...

"What?" he asked. "How long have I travelled with you, Lina? You give your all to whatever you do. You put your heart in to everything. You have great courage, and you can stare down raging trolls, then you can be so soft and caring. Remember that time we found the kittens in the snow? You almost cried as we trucked them to the village to find homes for them. I don't think I ever saw you looking lovelier, you were so open and genuine in your care for the helpless... If I hadn't already been in love with you, I'd have fallen in that moment..." he said.

Lina gulped as a tear came to her eye. "R-really?..." she asked, giving him a hug.

"Yeah." he said. "Well, except for that time last night when you..."

After watching his trajectory for a while Ayn and Milgasa looked at each other. "A natural!" said Milgasa. Ayn nodded. "I wonder if it's legal to recruit humans to play Dragon Ball?" she asked. "Might be in the Vegeta league." he replied. "I'll look it up when we get home..."

Ayn nodded... 


	11. Chapter 11

Later that evening they completed the walk into the town as the sunlight was starting to fade. A good time to eat and then go to bed. They also needed to make a plan for tommorrow, along the way they had talked about everything but the mission. It was too dark and looming, and the walk was too bright and enjoyable. Even Gourry had worked out most the kinks from his unexpected flight by the time they arrived.

They found a lively enough restaurant, brightly lit, a fair crowd, it looked reasonably competent. Well, that was Luna's opinion at any rate, given after a rather critical once over...

It was one of those "Please wait to be seated places", a bit formal, but not a bad system when you had a lot of supper time customers, it helped get people seated faster, and made sure the wait staff got an even share of the work.

"Yeah?" said Lina, not knowing why Luna was explaining this...

"Drop a name why don't you?" smirked Ayn.

A handsome, older man with dark hair, and a strange looking, rather fixed smile, approached and gave a slight bow. "Good evening and welcome to Club KitKat. I am your host on this beautiful night, and I will now show you to your beautiful seats. For seven?" he asked, as he did a quick count.

Luna returned the bow. "Good Even, Maitre D'Hotel Host. I am Luna and I'll be your guest, well, one of seven, yes..."

"She'll be the obnoxious, piggy one..." added Ayn in an "oh so innocent" tone.

"And Ayn'll be the one leaving suddenly if she doesn't watch it, through the roof most likely..." said a straighfaced Luna.

Ayn had a ready response, but a sigh from Milgasa made her stop. "Spoil Sport." she muttered.

Their host took it all in his stride, and soon the travellers were seated in the beautiful main dining room. He bid them to rest and to stay in three languages, which seemed a bit odd, but, oh well. To one side of the room was a sort of a stage area, obviously there was to be an entertainment at some time. Music most likely, maybe with dancers of some sort, by the looks of things.

"Ha! There was a tiny stress mark, did you see? He's had a busy night!" said a smirking Luna, with a note of triumph.

Lina looked confused and Luna zeroed in. "I was just testing the Maitre D's mettle there, he's pretty competent, so I suspect this'll be a well run restaurant. He did respond to the obnoxiousness I gave him, but kept it all under wraps! Now we shall see how the server does!"

Lina sweatdropped...

Ayn sighed. "Can't give up being a waitress can you? Not even for a mission."

Luna's reply was cut off by Milgasa rumbling "Stress relief..."

"Huh? Hey!" said Luna as Ayn snickered "True, true...".

"Bet this place is expensive..." muttered Lina as she looked around and saw how fancy it actually looked.

A young man bearing menus and a bowl with bread sticks in it approached the table and gave a bow. "Good evening, I am Hanz, and I will be your waiter tonight." he said as he placed the bowl down, and then handed the menus around smartly. They were opened, and Lina's prediction was confirmed, the place was rather pricey. Meanwhile, Luna was obviously giving Hanz the once over, but he was very professional. "Would anyone care for something to drink?" he asked.

There was some pondering and then Luna piped up "Go ahead guys and gals, get whatever you want, this one's on... Lina."

"Hey??" said Lina doing a double take...

"Yeah, uh, old Zephielian custom actually." she said in a tone that implied maybe it was, maybe it wasn't...

"The bride and groom get a big bash on their wedding night, then have to return the favour within the year. Given the reason you two had to get married in such a hurry last night I figured you want to get this out of the way as soon as possible..."

"Oh my!" said Sylphiel, not sure what to make of this.

"Now, JUST a minute Luna!" said Lina "Since when..."

Luna interupted Lina's obvious rebuttal with "If you had stuck closer to home and not gone galavanting all over the world at age twelve you'd have learned a thing or two."

Lina frowned "But you said..."

Luna again interupted with "I didn't mean right away, I meant think about it for the future. Sheesh! Don't you go blaming that one on me, Lina Gabrieve!"

At least she remembered to use the now vibrating Lina's new name.

"I'll have a boilermaker." said Milgasa suddenly. "Two!" said Ayn.

"What?" asked a perplexed Zel, of all people...

"An ale with a shot of whiskey." explained Sylphiel, of all people...

Even more shocking she then added, "Three, please..."

Zel chuckled. "Okay, four..."

"I better stay sober..." said Gourry looking at Lina glare at Luna.

"No, you'll need two." said Ayn "Bring six." she told the waiter.

Gourry sweatdropped, but before he could speak Lina piped up with "What? You guys are ordering? We haven't settled who's paying for what!" she protested.

"Oh for the heavens sake I have money..." said Sylphiel, hoping she could both quiet the scene, and cover the bill.

"Me too." said Zel.

"We all have money..." said Milgasa.

Ayn nodded. "Or credit..."

Lina replied, a bit nervously, "Er, hold on guys, that's not it..."

"Way to go sis, now everyone's going to pick up their own tabs..." said Luna, in an overacted "Oh, so hurt..." tone. She never said "Cheapskate" but you could hear it in her voice...

"Will you give over?" said Lina rounding on Luna with uncharacteristic fierceness. "I might be willing to pay, but I darned well won't be ordered into it. It's MY money..."

"You might?" asked Gourry, Zel, and Sylphiel at the same time...

Lina's eyes began to glow a dangerous shade of red...

Ayn smirked. "Congratulations Luna! You finally found how to make the worm turn!"

Luna actually backed off, slightly, as Lina stood up to her. Rare indeed, and yet, secretly she wasn't displeased.

However...

"Alright, have it your way Lina." she sighed. "But your fault if something happens and you leave with a debt still owing..."

Lina growled.

Luna sighed and said to the waiter "A bottle of Zephielian North Chardonnay, and Escargot appetizers for everyone." she ordered. A somewhat confused Hanz bowed and scribbled dutifully on his little pad.

"Err, what's..." Gourry started to ask, but he was interupted by Lina, who was already going slightly ballistic. "Oh very good! Order the bottle of white wine you know will be the most expensive!" she said standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "You better bring two glasses then!" she ordered the waiter. He nodded.

A tiny, dark haired waitress, probably old enough to work, but looking very young, approached, looking nervous. Obviously the commotion was not going unnoticed by the rest of the restaurant. "Er, do you reqire assistance Mr. Hanz?" she asked.

"Now your gonna get us kicked out, way to go Lina..." said Luna. Lina growled, but decided to try and restrain herself. This was still Luna, after all...

Hanz smiled nervously, then said "N-no thanks Miss Helga, I think this is actually winding down, I think..."

Helga giggled and teased the waiter. "You did remember to go easy on the sauerkraut this time, I hope..."

Hanz sighed and replied "Now Helga, don't be naughty, or I'll have to tell the boss and you know what'll happen if you've been very, very bad..."

Helga eeped, and backed out with a blush, unconciously putting a hand behind herself as if to protect her tushy...

Hanz turned back to Lina and Luna and said "My good ladies, you seem hungry, and hunger can shorten tempers. Perhaps if you eat first, then talk, this converstion will be more peaceful?"

"Well, you're diplomatic, if nothing else..." smirked Luna. "So, that young little girl was Helga? Who are the others?" she asked, changing the subject as Lina sat back down.

"Hey?" said a slightly startled Hans. Well, it was not a typical question. He looked around then said "Yes, that's Helga, and yeah, she is young, she's kind of the baby here... The others? Well, let's see, over there is Miss Rosie, well, it's more of a nick name she gets from the colour of her cheeks, and then over on the side is Miss Francine, but we all call her "Frenchie" for some reason. The other waiter on tonight is Herman. Coming on duty a bit later are Miss Texas, and no, I don't know where that name came from, she won't say, which is a bit odd, but besides being a good server, she shines at being a cunning lingualist, and also Miss Fritzie, and Miss LuLu. A lot of people like her. And our chefs are Victor, and Bobby." he said, pointing to the back where two men could be seen hustling about in the kitchen. "Or is it Bobby, and Victor?" Hanz said, more to himself. "Ah, there's really only one way to tell them apart... He realised he was musing and got a bit nervous. "Twins..." he explained. He went on "We also have the Maitre D'Hotel, and a few others around doing other jobs..." he added.

"And where are our drinks?" asked Ayn.

Hanz gulped.

"Oh, that was me..." said Luna. "My bad, everyone. I detained him. Mr. Hanz, you better go, Ayn here gets a dragon sized thirst when she wants a drink and has a dragon sized temper when she's kept waiting..."

The poor waiter let out a sweatdrop, then bowed, and left.

"And do you know what this dragon sized temper says about that?" snarled Ayn.

"Hey! Who ate all the breadsticks?" was Luna's reply...

"Wrong!" said Ayn.

"I had one..." volunteered Zel.

"Err, me too..." said Sylphiel, looking guilty, and trying to figure out why...

Lina spoke up. "Gourry? What are you eating?" she asked, looking at her husband as he chewed away on something that was filling his mouth...

"Wmm, nmmom lth mss mttng..." Gourry said, trying to reply through his full mouth.

"We were arguing! OOHHH!!" snarled Lina as she went to smack him.

In one smooth move Gourry swallowed, blocked the swing, and said "Hey,come on Lina, no one else seemed interested. You know the rules..."

Lina frowned in an angry sort of way and said "Company manners, Jellyfish! We aren't alone here..."

Ayn dryly remarked "Gee Luna, he eats like you, only with more manners..."

Luna turned slowly, with her characteristic smirk on her face. Lina cringed in a scared sort of way and prepared to duck...

"You're absolutely right!" she said.

"Of course I am..." was the reply. But the slight quaver in Ayn's voice rather spoiled the intended sarcasm.

Fortunately the pointless bantering was interupted by the arrival, in record time, of the drinks...

And then Hanz made the mistake of asking for the food orders...

After he staggered away to see if there was enough food in the world to fill the orders, everyone took what was quaintly refered to as a "big pull" on their poisons of choice...

"Ahhhh..." was the general consensus...

"So, um, Miss Sylphiel, pardon my curiosity, how is it you know of this drink?" said Zel as he took a drink and then mulled on his fortefied ale...

"Oh, er, well my father and his brothers would occasionally have one on the high holy days after doing the temple rites. Sort of as a celebratory drink. Actually, there is a festival where the gift of grain is celebrated, and since ale and whiskey are fermented from grain, I guess it was a natural enough mix. Anyway, everyone got to have a drink, or at least a sip, on the festival day, so I'm, uh, familiar with it." Sylphiel replied, with her usual pretty smile...

"So, you're a lush then?" smirked Ayn.

"Oh my!" replied Sylphiel, turning bright red and wondering why she was being picked on.

"Or luscious..." remarked Zel, so dryly that it took a few seconds for people to realise he'd made a bad joke...

"Oh My!" repeated Sylphiel a little more emphatically as her blush deepened. "Really now..."

"You? Make a joke? Why Zel, I'm shocked, shocked I tell you." said Lina, giggling at Sylphiel's discomfort.

Zel smiled cattily "Yeah, it's always the one you least expect..." he answered.

Lina might have said more, but now the appetisers arrived...

"Oh, right, the escargot you ordered." said Ayn to Luna.

Gourry piped up, "Oh yeah, I was trying to ask what that was..." he said.

"Snails." replied Zel.

Sylphiel gasped...

"Is Miss Lina alright?" asked a concerned Milgasa...

"I was sure that sis told me that she had gotten over her fear of slugs." sighed Luna, later, as they were finishing their meal, in a different place. "And honestly, they have shells on, sheesh, it's not the same thing..."

"Is too..." said a thoroughly embarassed Lina, trying to hide behind Gourry.

"Luna, you did too know better, that was just plain mean." said Ayn, with a frown. "Honestly, you seemed to be making so much progress towards getting off to a better relationship with your little sister, and now this. I don't know what's eating away at your heart Luna, you never talk about it. But you need to, it's going to eat you up one of these days, and chew on Lina too. What would your mother say?"

Luna turned a peculiar, dangerous look towards Ayn. She said, very quietly, and very, very frighteningly "And what would you know about it, squire?"

Ayn gave a tiny but definite jump of shock. She hadn't meant to put Luna's back up, that was for sure. "Forgive me, my Lady Luna." she said, also quietly, but in a formal,and submissive manner. "It was not my intention to pick a fight..."

Luna looked at the chastised dragon woman before her. She cooled down. "And one wasn't started. I'm sorry too." she finally said. She turned to her sister and said "Lina, I meant to make you embarass yourself by jumping and maybe giving a scream. I didn't anticipate how strong a reaction you'd actually have, though maybe I should have..."

Then she did something she hadn't done since the night before they left on the mission. She stood up and bowed low to Lina while saying "It was a practical joke that went wrong Lina, I ask you to forgive me, I will never do it again..."

Lina was stunned for a minute, then she stood up and returned the bow. "I haven't been the easiest little sister in the world either, Luna, I understand that. Please, forgive me too. Let's bury the hatchet and start over, please? I do love you and admire you, and it would mean the world to me if we could be friends as well as sisters..."

Luna nodded, then smiled. "Deal, Lina. Though we've tried this before, several times..."

Lina nodded, but smiled. "Well, don't give up, if we keep trying, one of these days we'll be bound to get it right."

The sisters suddenly gave each other a spontaneous hug, and the mood lifted around the table again.

"About time..." sighed Ayn with relief.

"Too bad it took bringing down a whole restaurant to bring this moment about." said Milgasa quietly, with a little smile.

"Yeah..." said Zel with a rare sweatdrop of his own.

"Oh well, it was nice of the town guard to let us off with a warning..." sighed Sylphiel.

Zel nodded. "Prompt payment in full helped. Also, the prospect of dealing with an enraged "enemy of all who live", AND her big "Knight of Cepiphied" sister, not to mention not one, but two powerful members of the dragon nobility probably was a strong inducement to temper justice with mercy." he added.

Milgasa actually gave a slight smirk. "Yes, it didn't hurt, the way you dropped names, while letting everyone see you were an uber scary chimera..."

"Couldn't you have used something more realistic like "World's most beautiful sorcery genius?"" asked Lina, seething at the memory of the embarassment.

"Wouldn't have had the same effect, sorry." said Zel in reply. "I had to go for maximum shock value."

"In that case you left out "Bandit Killer" and Dragon Spooker" didn't you?" smirked Ayn.

Lina cringed, but Zel replied before she could speak. "Well, maybe I'm paranoid from being in Seirune so much, but "Bandit Killer" seemed like it might invite a Justice Powered murder investigation, whereas "Enemy of all who live" besides being really scary, is obviously some sort of mockery, and, well, judging from you two, it didn't look like "Dragon Spooker" was on anymore..."

"Oh, don't underestimate the power of politeness..." said Migasa softly...

"Yeah, appearances can be deceiving..." added Ayn.

"What!?" said Lina, sounding perplexed.

The two dragons simply shuddered as if afraid...

"OOOHHH!!" shrieked Lina as she banged her head into the table. "Will I never get free of these stupid names? Okay, I've blown up a few bandits that were attacking me, so what? But I don't spook dragons! I don't even know how that started!!" she said, half shouting in frustration.

"Yeah, who was that?" said Ayn, trying to remember something. "Do you know, Sir Milgasa? That tall woman, black hair, clear blue eyes..."

"Oh right, the world's most bizzare and ugly dressed evil sorceress wanna be. I remember her, sort of..." said Milgasa. "Something about a snake, wasn't it? Her name I mean."

"Yes, and a laugh, her favourite attack was a bizzare and very scary laugh..." put in Ayn.

Lina drove a fork into the steak Gourry was trying to remove from her plate, lifted her head, and stared at the dragons with a wierd, and dangerous light in her eyes. "Do you mean to tell me that Naga the Serpent started those Dragon Spooker rumours?" she asked in a peculiar, flat sort of voice.

"I think that's the name..." said Milgasa.

"Sounds right." nodded Ayn.

"She is now officially a walking dead woman..." hissed Lina.

"Oh? Your ex travelling companion?" asked Luna. "The one who's boobs you couldn't stop obsessing over?"

Lina turned her dangerous stare to Luna, who tried to stare her down, then, in a rare, rare turn of events backed down, sweatdropped, and said "Er, th-that didn't quite come out the way I meant it..."

"Obsessed?" asked Lina. "Oh yes. When you are a flat, gangly, fourteen year old girl, and your traveling companion keeps continually pointing out your deficiencies in relation to her gross and disgusting ninteen years old over abundance, yeah, I guess I could be a bit obsessed. But you are right, Luna, I am not obsessed the way you tried to imply..."

"Er, well... " stumbled Luna. "But that was then, you are a well developed young woman in her early twenties now..."

"Yup!" said Gourry, dodging another forking and liberating a potato from Lina's plate...

"Really?" said Lina, suddenly gushing with gratitude at Gourry...

"Lemme get you alone and I'll prove it to you!" he said with a wink.

"Ooooo, we know what you two are gonna do..." smirked Ayn and Luna together.

"Ahhh, get your own!" smiled Lina in reply as she stuck her tongue out and pulled one of her eyelids down.

Good naturedly of course...

This promptly gave Sylphiel the giggles and soon the whole table was laughing.

"Ah, well, that leaves it to me to be the spoil sport, sorry..." said Luna when they had calmed down a bit.

Of course her tone made it sound like she was anything but sorry...

"We need to take five minutes and make a plan for tommorrow." she went on, being more business like.

The others nodded. Lina went first "We just won't know what we are dealing with on the island itself until we arrive, so we can't do much to plan for that, except for the warning we had earlier not to get separated. I suggest we do some sort of reconnaissance before we land, but I wonder if we should do that on Ayn and Milgasa's backs or if Zel and I should Raywing ahead?"

"No." said Luna with a note of authority. "If it wasn't "her" and her lair we were dealing with I'd agree, but I fear that you two going on ahead will be the separation we were just talking about. To give you the best chance to not be seen we'd need to hold back, and if you ran into trouble we'd be too far away to even know, let alone respond."

There was some general nodding and a moment of silent contemplation, then Gourry said "Okay, so a full frontal assault then. How do we maximise our advantage? Is there anyway to sneak up on them?"

"We're flying, remember?" said Lina with a sigh.

"Yeah, but he has a point still." interjected Zel. "Okay, does anyone know what kind of watchers "she" is likely to have set out?"

"Not really." said Milgasa in his turn. ""She" tends to know a lot about things going on in her neighbourhood, but no one has detected a lot of magic or anything that would suggest powerful warding spells. Actually the area tends to be rather dead for magic, for some reason."

There was another pause. Sylphiel suddenly brightened and asked "Well, that would suggest someone is just watching, wouldn't it?" she asked.

Zel nodded. "What are you thinking?"

Sylphiel hesitated then said "It's probably silly, but if it's just watchers and not magical wards, what if we just, well, came out of the sun or something?"

"Blind side them you mean?" asked Luna. "Not a bad thought, not a bad thought at all, Miss Sylphiel, but, hmm, how to get to the sun without being seen?" she added

There was more pondering. It was Gourry, again, who got it. "Well, wait, this place we are going, it's west of here isn't it?"

"Yeah." said Lina, wondering what he was thinking.

"Well, why don't we arrive at our target at dawn, with the sun? We will be coming from the east after all." he explained.

Ayn brightened "Hey!" she enthused. "Ah, the military mind at work. Yes, why don't we? We fly in the pre-dawn and arrive early in the morning with the sun right at our backs. We can see, anyone looking our way should be blind to our arrival. And if they are sleepy enough we might be able to touch down unnoticed. Hey, it might work, way to go Mr. Gourry!"

"Oh, errr thanks!" replied Gourry. Lina gave him a quick hug.

"Of course if we have to retreat right away it will blind us too..." added Milgasa quietly.

"And our pursuers." put in Zel.

"Well, it's weak, but it's the best plan we have..." said Luna. "I vote we go for it, I don't think we'll get any better." She put her hand up.

The others mulled a bit then slowly all the other hands went up too.

"No heroics though" put in Ayn. "We simply aren't enough to cut our way through all of "her" minions to our goal, and back out again. We need to be sneaky, or get out."

"Agreed." said Luna and the others nodded.

So, it was decided, they would go to the island and see, and if possible attempt a rescue or capture of the poor Miss Filia. It would require an early start, and that meant...

Early to bed.

So, after one more round of teasing the newly weds, they did just that. 


	12. Chapter 12

On Wolfpack island, things had also been happening. For one thing, both Xellos and Beastmaster had disappeared on strange missions. Then Xellos had come back, only to be intercepted by Zelas and whisked away someplace mysterious. Apparently he came by his love of secrets honestly...

None of this did much good for Filia who had become, if anything, more consumed by the fire raging in her spirit, and her loins...

She was trying to stay pure for the Mistress, but if something didn't happen soon, well, damn, but those elf slaves of hers were starting to look irresistable...

She was sitting alone in the tea room, trying to weep her frustration away. To top it off, she wondered why she felt this way. All her life, she had never had a single sexual urge, as was keeping with the purity of the dragon lifestyle. True, she had never been told the facts of life, her mother, and later her father had simply said that in the fullness of time there would come a day when she was ready to make the change from girl to woman, and all would be explained then. And then they had died, along with the rest, leaving her alone, isolated, without contact with the dragon world.

Until that horrible day she could never forget...

Now this was happening, what was it, was she diseased? Was she dying in a bizzare way, would this pain, this need, never go away? The tears flowed, as did her raging desire. If something didn't happen...

"What this? Our dear Filia in tears? On what should be a happy day for her?" said the voice of something happening...

Beastmaster had returned, and was dragging a very nervous looking Xellos in tow...

Filia looked to the blonde woman with gratitude. Her eyes also went to Xellos. And they did a double take, Xellos was different somehow. Still Xellos, but...

Different! Attractive even!

Oh gods, was she that far gone?

Wait...

Zelas' words finally trickled in.

"H-Happy?" she said, looking back at Zelas.

"Aren't you?" BeastMaster asked.

Filia shook her head.

Zelas cocked an eye. "Explain" she commanded.

"W-well, it's this shamefull need I'm having. I don't know why I feel this way, this nearly uncontrollable urge. Mistress, I-I'm afraid. I mean, you've been so kind to me, I don't want to leave your service, uh, but, what's wrong with me Mistress? Do you know? I'm dying in some bizzare way, aren't I?"

Filia might have had more to say, but the look on the Greater Beast's face, combined with her long and loud laughter stopped the dragon girl.

"M-Mistress?" she asked, as Zelas laughed so forcefully that she had to sit down...

Finally the "Terror of Wolfpack Island" got herself together and under control.

"Dying, Filia? When you are pledged to me you don't die unless I wish it. No, no dear girl. You are going in the wrong direction. Do not think death, think life!"

Filia was at a loss, and turned to Xellos for help. He just shrugged, and looked drooly...

Oh, she so had to stop that...

She looked back to her Mistress, who was smirking gleefully.

Zelas stood up, reached out, and gently stroked Filia's cheek. "Short version first, then the longer explanation, okay?" Zelas asked.

Filia nodded.

Beast Master spoke. "You aren't dying, my dearest little Filia. This is life, not death. You, my dear, precious child..."

"Are going to lay an egg!!"

Filia's eyes shot wide open. Wider than they had ever gone in her whole life. "I-I am?" she finally blurted.

"Mmmm-hmmmm!" smiled Zelas, who then grabbed Filia into a big hug as the dragon girl screamed in relief, shock, and joy, all at once.

Which was no mean feat...

"Feel better?" Zelas asked.

Filia giggled. "I am happy not to be dying. Ah me, so, "the change" has finally come to me has it? I am becoming a dragon woman, no more to be a dragon girl." She gave a sad little sigh, and added "But there will never be any babies for me..."

"Why not?" smirked Zelas.

Filia gave a sad smile. "Oh, you know, the usual "no man" kind of reason..." she said.

Zelas smiled mysteriously and replied "Yet..."

Filia was confused by that.

Zelas said "Now, what do you think I've been doing today? Well, I'll tell you, I have been going to and fro, back and forth, and up and down all over the world today, finding out things. You'd be amazed at how reluctant dragons are to talk about this sort of thing, they seem to think it's private and personal, can you imagine. But, a few well placed threats, and hey, it's amazing what you can learn. Listen dear girl, and I'll take the place of your poor departed mother and explain the facts of dragon life to you."

She indicated a seat and Filia sat. Zelas sat beside her. "Xellos, my sweet, be a dear and fetch us a spot of tea?"

Xellos bowed and left. He seemed relieved to get out, for some reason...

"Filia," said Beastmaster, becoming serious, "it is a fact of nature that most of the worlds creatures behave as you dragons do, with a definite time when you become fertile, and a definite time you are not. It seems that mostly it's only humans and elves that are more or less fertile all year long. There is no shame in this, it is simply part of your nature. As I understand it, for you dragons, a girl first reaches her fertility between her six hundredth and seven hundredth year. Just like you. Now, dragons are not ashamed of this, but they usually don't tell their young about these things because until a dragon girl reaches her time she has no context to put the explanation in, and afterwards, she needs little telling."

She stopped and took out her cigarette holder and lit up. She took a deep draw and exhaled. "Ah, that's so good..." she sighed happily.

She went on. "The simple fact of the matter is, when you are ready to lay your egg, something that will happen about every ten to twelve years, by the way, about two weeks before you are due you basically become very excited, and your sexual desire awakens. The first sign is increased restlessness, followed by outright need. Apparently the egg is ready to receive the seed from the male dragon, and you, as the egg bearer, come into season, or heat, as the saying goes, and can think of little else. You do not eat, you hardly drink, sleep is little more than a nap, and all you want is sex, sex, and more sex. At the height of it, any ready male will do."

"To protect themselves from this, the dragons have evolved a social custom where the clans keep mating grounds at the ready, and when a lady starts becoming in "that way", she and her husband retire to one of the areas and make babies for several days until the time passes and she can calm down again. Having only the one man at her disposal, the woman is assured that the man has a vested interest in what he knows to be his children, and you babies know who your daddies are. Again, you are not like humans and elves, so when the time is not upon you you have no desire at all, and don't cheat. Illegitimate children are almost unknown to the dragons with the most usual exceptions being in cases of an unmarried dragon lady not being able to control herself and fertilizing her eggs with a dragon who isn't her life mate. Since you are so very clanish, you tend to protect your daughters and they rarely get left alone with that kind of temptation. Usually the women of the family move in and protect the girl in her first time, her time of transition. She has no man, and eventually she lays a sterile egg, but it is seen as proof that she is ready to become a mother, and so she is put out there as being of age. It is rare indeed for a dragon girl to hit her second time without a mate. The prospect of becoming a mother is a powerful inducement to marry, I take it."

Filia pondered this. "S-so, Mistress, I will be unbearably in need for a few days, then I will calm down and lay an egg? And I will do this again in about ten years... yes, I see. Well, an egg takes nearly five years to hatch, it makes sense. Time to hatch, time to grow a bit before the next generation arrives, okay. It makes sense now, I see why I wasn't told. Oh Mistress, do you think we can really find a mate for me by the time this happens again?"

Zelas smiled again. "Well, I must go on a bit before I answer that question." She reached over and gently lifted the shard that Filia was wearing around her neck as a necklace. The shard of Val's egg.

"Tragic, yes. But do you remember him before he was Val? When he was ValGaav?" she asked.

Filia looked sad as she nodded.

"Do you know how he was made?" Zelas asked.

Filia thought, then said, "I believe Lord Gaav found Val dying on the ruins that the abomination known as my clan had made of his noble race..." she said. "He stabbed him with his sword and transfered some sort of power into him, and he became ValGaav."

Zelas nodded. "He stabbed him in order to kill him, so that he would be open to receive my brother's power. Lord Gaav took him to the brink of death, then filled him with his power and brought him back, a new creature, half dragon spirit, half mazoku spirit.

Xellos returned at this time with the tea and began serving. Filia sat in rapt attention at Zelas' words, words that told her of things she didn't know. She nodded slowly as BeastMaster explained.

Zelas took a sip of her tea, nodded approvingly, then went on."Now, here's the trick. I won't go into the details of how it is done, that would take from now until your next time just to explain, but the short story is that your eggs, being that they posses the power to become babies, yet aren't fertilised, are also open to receive this kind of power transfusion." said Zelas. "In other words, they can be fertilized by either dragon seed from a man dragon, or, they can be fertilized by a mazoku infusing them with power, like my brother did to ValGaav.'

Filia's eyes slowly grew wide as the implications began to settle in.

"There is a rub though. And just so you know my source, in order to learn this, I had to travel the Hell Way to reach that which is left of the memories of the Aqua Lord! Yes Filia! Though the path known to the dragons is now destroyed, there are other ways in, and so I went to the Claire bible itself to answer this part. It is amazing what magic it actually remembers. A mazoku can fertilize your eggs using spiritual energy, provided the fertilization happens while the egg is unlayed, when it is still inside of you!"

"S-so I have to be stabbed?" asked a horrified Filia.

Zelas laughed at that. "Well, you could call it that, yes, but, not with a sword. At least, not with one of steel..."

Filia was totally confused now.

Zelas shook her head. "My fault..." she said with a laugh. "It is a common joke with humans to refere to a male lover as a swordsman, and his, um, member as his sword..."

Filia processed then lightened. "Oh, I have to make love you mean!" she said.

Zelas nodded. Close enough...

"And you will fertilize me, Mistress?" Filia asked, with a slight blush.

Zelas did a double take then sniggered. "Oh my, I didn't explain that last part did I? No, little one, even the Mazoku must work on either the male principal or the female one, and in case you missed it, I am female. You need a male Mazoku to infuse you. If I had met Val the first time, instead of Gaav, I couldn't have done what he did. Yes Filia, even I have a few limits. So, we need a male mazoku to do this with."

She grinned a very big grin. "And I've found one..."

Filia gulped and looked towards the door, expecting some monster to loom through it and have his way with her.

"Afraid? Don't worry Filia, I made sure he'd be right for you. I even spent the afternoon making sure he has a piece of my own sensuous nature inside of him, so he would really understand what you are feeling, and feel some of it himself. Oh sure, he could just fake it with an artificially created "manly bit" and going through the motions, but I wanted it to be real for him. I wanted him to have somewhat of a bond with you, so he'd understand, and by understanding, be able to be there for you, and the babies, atleast to a certain extent."

Filia was confused again. Who was her Mistress talking about? To Filia's knowlege, the only male mazoku her Mistress had spent the afternoon with was...

"More tea, Mistress?" ask Xellos, holding the pot up.

Filia started to tremble...

"Ah, there we go, I knew she wasn't stupid!" smiled Beastmaster. "Yes baby, I will have more tea, thank you."

"B-but, he, he, he..." whispered Filia.

"Yes?" said Zelas, smiling in a conspiratorial sort of way.

"He's... your... son..." Filia finally managed to get out, staring at Xellos...

Beastmaster Zelas smiled triumphantly. "Well, I know, I know, he's too good for you, yes, but, hey, what can I say? I have a weakness for blondes, especially fertile ones. Besides, you have been a very good girl, and now that I understand what was going on, I can't even be mad anymore about the last few days when you were getting carried away. Of course you were, but we didn't know why. So, you lucked out, and got to be the servant girl who married her master! And yes Filia, I expect you two to work together for the long stretches of eternity that you live, and make me a grandmother many times over. So, as far as I'm concerned, you and Xellos..."

"ARE MARRIED!" she shouted gleefully.

"And yes, you can have a ceremony and everything the moment I can get it organised, but for now, with time of the essence, I suggest you two get on with the task of making me a grandma! Enough tea, let's get you two to bed!" she said, hustling the startled couple from the tea room and through the corridors to Filia's bedroom.

The elves were hustled out, their job of preparing the bridal beed finished anyway, fortunately for them. Beastmaster laughed as if some elaborate joke were being played, and the door slammed shut, leaving the "young couple" alone...

Filia just stared, open mouthed, at the closed door for a long time, before she could eventually turn to stare, open mouthed, at Xellos, who was staring at her...

Filia finally sweatdropped, put a hand behind her head and said with a nervous giggle "I, uh, must confessed I never ever pictured my wedding being like this, uh, nor my groom... no offense..."

Xellos stared at her then finally rumbled into life. "Uh, none taken..." he said.

After another awkward minute or two, or was it three or four, Filia said "Well, so, um, you look a bit different, did she, uh, tweak you somehow? I, er, that is, uh, oh gee..."

"Uh, yeah, she did, I think, I'm supposed to be just a touch more manly or something. I thought I was okay to begin with, but mother knows best, I think..." said Xellos.

"Yeah, well, you weren't bad looking to begin with, despite some earlier thrashy comments I may have made, but yeah, there is something, I don't know, just a little harder about you, more, yeah, manly would be the right word, I think..."

Suddenly she turned and buried her face in her hands. "God above and below! I can't believe this is happening! Any of it..."

Xellos felt a tenderness towards Filia he never had before, indeed, one he had never been capable of feeling before, and finally began to understand why Beastmaster had implanted a part of her sensuous nature in him. It allowed him to feel some new feelings, and it also seemed to protect him from their usually negative consequenses for mazokukind. Ah, was this what Lord Ruby Eye had had in mind when he gave a sensuous nature to his daughter Zelas?

Acting on his new instincts he went and gently drew Filia into a hug. "It's true that she's using us for an end, to make a race that's half mazoku, half dragon, but please don't think she doesn't care about you." he said quietly. "She thinks she is honouring us by doing this. And, I don't know, is it so bad? You will lay the egg anyway, fertilized or not..."

Filia let herself sink into Xellos hug. For a time she was just silent, but then, just as Xellos was getting worried, she replied. "Yeah, I know, I can see her point. I don't think I even mind, it's just the suddeness is so overwhelming is all. And you, of all people, er, beings, whatever. Xellos? My Lord? My former enemy? The pride and joy of a Mistress who's cigarette ashes I am not worthy of dumping? I get to be yours? That's like , I don't know, marrying the Fire Lord himself, or even Ceiphied? What am I, I..., I feel like I'm in over my head, Xellos, what do I do?"

Xellos smiled and held her. "Be yourself, as always..." he whispered softly. "I find this all new and different too, but, I don't mind. I always admired you, you were a noble enemy, and lately, an enthusiastic servant. And now, I can also appreciate that you are a beautiful young woman. Look, for all my years of life, this is new to me too, let's just take it one step at a time, and help each other along, we'll work it out okay."

Filia slowly turned in the hug, and ended up facing Xellos. She put her hands on his chest. Mmmm, Zelas had obviously toned that up a bit. She stared deeply into Xellos now open eyes, and saw that there was more there now than just his evil. After a time, she simply drew him to her, and kissed him a long time. He was unsure at first, but then he relaxed in to it, and when they finally released, he had a new appreciation for the girl he was holding. This was amazing, just when he thought he knew all there was to life, now he knew there was more, more he hadn't even dreamed of...

What was equally amazing was that, with his mother's "alterations" from this afternoon, he could feel all of this, and not instantly sicken or double over in pain.

Wow, was Amelia ever going to be in for a surprise!

Filia gave him a little smile. "You know, my Lord, we have a mission, and while the shock of my marriage has temporarily quelled the burning, it hasn't extinguished it..." she said quietly. "Are you ready for the honeymoon?"

Xellos gulped. "Uh, yeah, that..." he said.

Filia kissed him again, more passionatley this time. "Yeah! That!" she enthused...

"Well, um, it's just that I've, well, never..." he said, nervously.

"And I have?" said Filia, jokingly.

"Well, there was last night..."

"Ah, well, there you go, I'm an expert! You get to be the nervous virgin then, yes? One of us has to be."

"Uh. That is..."

Filia slowly, gently, but definitely, pushed Xellos back until he was sitting in the bed. "How shall I be for you, my husband? I can change my avatar form as you can. Do you like me in this simple pink and white dress I've taken to wearing lately?" she asked, indicating her clothing. "Or do you prefer me as you first met me?" she went on, morphing into her older style with the pink dress and the white petticoats. Heck, she even had the headgear with the annoyingly big balls on it.

Her mace was missing, though...

"Uh, that is, well, you are attractive in either dress..." said Xellos, sweatdropping from nervousness.

No, wait, it wasn't nervousness, what was it?

Could this be the burning form of...

Desire?

"Maybe you'd rather have me dressed like this?" asked Filia with a naughty tone.

With that she morphed again, this time into a set of ultra erotic lingerie...

Long white shear stockings going to a garter belt. They were matched by white shear arm coverings, held in place only by a loop that went around the middle finger of each hand like a sort of ring, and elastic bands at the tops. A white thong. A lacey white, well, Xellos didn't know what to call it, but it just hid her ribs while exposing her belly and her navel. He never realised they could be so, um, what was that fancy word? Oh yeah, erogenous... And the cups, such as they were, barely contained her large, round, soft breasts.

He couldn't tear his eyes away. Suddenly, every inch of Filia had become erotic, even her sensuous tail. He did notice the ribbon on it was now white as well...

"Eh, well, I must say, virgin white looks most becoming on you..." said a nervous, and excited Xellos. Silently he said a "Thank you!" to Beast Master for giving him the ability to feel the sensuous emotions this situation was generating, now that he knew better, he'd have so hated to fake his way throught this, even though he knew he could...

"Enjoy it while you may, my Xellos." said Filia, in what she hoped was a soft and seductive voice.. "After tonight I'll have to wear this..." With that, she used her avatar magic to turn the outfit black. "Or would you prefer this?" she asked, making it go a deep red.

Xellos looked on for a long minute then closed his eyes as he smirked at Filia. "Truth to tell, I think what I prefer most is the woman inside of it."

Filia moved forward, letting the outfit return to white. She pushed Xellos down onto the bed, and slowly lowered herself down on top of him, her face right in front of his. "Oh yes?" she asked, not trying to hide her need any more.

Xellos opened his eyes again and smiled a dangerous, erotic smile. "Here, let me show you..." he said, as they drew each other into a long, erotic kiss... 


	13. Chapter 13

The morning had the nerve to come when it was still dark out. How dare it? At least that was what Lina thought as a persistant knocking at her door woke her out of a wonderful, sound sleep.

She was so not a morning person these days...

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... we're awake..." she grogged, giving Gourry a distinct elbow to make sure he was back in "reality" too.

Hey, why should she be the only one to suffer, after all?

Luna's voice giggled in "Sorry to knock you up, Lina, but it's time to get going if we want to save Filia today."

Lina buried her face in her hands. What was with her sister and her sick sense of humour? Man, what Luna needed in the worst way was to be...

No, better not go there, this was Luna, after all, she could probably read minds...

Lina oozed from the bed, missing the warmth and the security she was rapidly learning to enjoy from having Gourry beside her. Especially since the staff of the hotel hadn't brought warm wash water yet and she had to make do with a hurried splash in cold water...

She ran a brush halfheartedly through the red tangle that was her hair. She smiled as she remembered how it, and Gourry's golden glory, complimented each other when they mixed these days. When she decided she had had enough she went over and got herself some clean clothes from her magic cape, and began dressing.

After a minute she realised Gourry was watching her. It was something he did, apparently he enjoyed it, but she found it a bit unnerving still. But she couldn't complain, she had a similar feeling when he dressed. There was something about watching his wonderful body move that just got to her everytime. So, she had to allow that fair was fair. Besides, someone was finding her body wonderful, and could she really complain about that? She settled for just giving him a wink, which made him blush, for some reason...

Soon they were as ready as they were going to be and they went out of the door and down to the dining room. The others were there, grabbing a quick meal made of a cold breakfast. Apparently the cooks weren't up yet and the poor overworked night staff was making do with what they could find.

After the too hasty, and too skimpy, meal they made their way outside into the dark of the predawn. There was the faintest hint of a glow starting in the east, the first harbinger of the dawn that would shortly enough be blazing upon them, and hopefully into the eyes of their enemies.

"So, is everyone ready for our suicide mission?" said an unaccountably cheereful Luna. "Okay then, let's have Gourry and Zel go with Milgasa, and I'll take Lina and Sylphiel with me on Ayn."

"Hey, Lina, how come we never fly together?" asked Gourry, sounding dissapointed.

"I don't know, Jellyfish, Luna's figured it that way, I guess..." sighed Lina. "Probably something to do with the weight..."

Ayn gave Gourry a once over. "Well, from my point of view as a dragon there really isn't a lot of difference, weight wise, between you and Miss Sylphiel." she said to Gourry.

"H-hey??" said Sylphiel, giving herself a once over that suggested she was looking for about a hundred extra pounds that must have magically just ballooned from her body.

Ayn snickered. "I said from a dragon's point of view Miss Sylphiel. I realise the weight difference is a lot from your own, but to me, Gourry isn't that much heavier to carry, especially for a short flight like this. Look, you guys work it out for yourselves, but I don't mind if it's Gourry or Sylphiel that I carry."

Lina looked at Luna who just shrugged and said "Well, Ayn's just being diplomatic about the weight business. Let's see, that'll make one swordsman and one magical girl per dragon, maybe it's a good mix. Okay, do what you want." With that, she went to morph into "The Knight" the signal for all to get ready.

Sylphiel seemed to be in a tizz "D-do I look fat? Sombody, please! Do I look fat?"

"If you're fat, then most of the women in the world should carry a few extra pounds." said Zel, with an unhelpful chuckle.

"Then I am fat??" said a teary Zylphiel, bunching her hands in front of her face.

"Oh way to go there, Mister Sensetivity!" Lina snapped at Zel. She then turned to Sylphiel and said, a little harshly "Sylphiel, get a grip. Luna's just jealous."

Ayn gasped and stared.

Lina suddenly realised what she had done and gave a scream of terror, while looking around to see exactly what direction death was coming from.

Gourry ran to his wife and said, in a worried voice, "Lina, what's the matter?"

Luna returned from changing and strode into the circle as if nothing happened.

"Well, let's get going, porky..." she smirked, poking Ayn's tight, sleek midrift.

"You're one to talk, lardo..." replied Ayn, stalking off to find some privacy.

Luna grinned wickedly, then turned to Sylphiel. "First, dear girl, all I actually said was that Ayn was the one making comments..."

"I heard that!" drifted in from just out of sight...

Carrying on as if nothing had been said, Luna continued "And actually, I am kind of jealous, I'd love to grow my hair as long as possible, but being the Knight I have to keep it no longer than upper midback, or it gets in the way when I have this dumb armour on. I just wish I had your midnight waterfall, I've never totally taken to my alotted brown. But atleast we have good taste in bangs!"

"Oh my, uh, yes!" replied a relieved and embarassed Sylphiel, sweatdropping slightly as she put a hand behind her head and tried to tell herself to never get caught out like this again.

"Oh, and Lina?" said Luna, turning partway towards her little sister.

Lina gulped and nodded.

Luna just laughed evilly "Hehe, hehe, hehe..." causing the redhead to give a cry and hide behind her husband...

Ayn, now in dragon form, flew back down to the group, as did Milgasa who had managed to remain out of the silliness that had just happened. There were few onlookers at this time of night, but those who were up were bug eyed as they watched two powerful dragons appear and riders get on them. There was a sudden rush, and the gang was airborn.

"Bit chilly..." remarked Luna to Ayn as they rose into the sky.

"Yeah, might have been a frost up on the slopes..." was the reply.

"Do you think so?" said Gourry, putting in conversation. It perhaps didn't help that he was wrapped up with Lina in his cloak, and they were warming each other.

"Shhh..." cringed Lina, not wanting to do anything to upset her sister, or Ayn.

To the east the sky got perceptibly brighter as they rose higher, bringing the sun up faster. The dragons turned due south, intending to fly until they were directly east of Wolfpack Island, and then begin their approach.

Perched on Milgasa, Zel and Sylphiel had wrapped their cloacks around themeselves to keep the chilly wind out too. With nothing better to do at the moment they talked.

"I can't believe we are going to "that" place..." muttered Sylphiel. She tried not to look or sound worried, but such was the reputation of Wolfpack Island that she didn't fully succeed.

"I do understand." replied Zel. "I never thought I'd go there either. Oh well, let's hope we can succeed and also come away with useful information. The books in the library were pretty scant on real information. No floor plans, for example."

"Wouldn't want it to get boring now, would you?" rumbled Milgasa, perhaps attempting to diffuse some of the tension with a bit of dry humour.

Zel smiled and replied."Well, it's always been my complaint that these games never have a beginners level, nor a reliable guide book. Heck, they don't even have that mythological fairy that shows up in a lot of tales to give the hero help when he needs it. Or she..." he added, looking at Sylphiel.

Sylphiel smiled. "I'm no hero Mr. Zelgadiss, I do this because it has to be done, but I'm not like Miss Lina or Mr. Gourry over there."

Zel chuckled. "I have a feeling that they aren't either. At least, not when it comes to these big adventures." He was silent for a minute then added "Speaking of Lina, she sure seems different this time around, doesn't she? I mean, is she really that terrified of her sister? What's going on? Luna's a jerk in some ways and has a fouler mind and mouth than I thought a Knight of Ceiphied would have, but I don't see anything that should be putting Lina into a state of permanent panic. Or whatever the problem is..."

"Well, I get the impression she is perhaps more restrained than she has been." siad Sylphiel. "I believe she has met someone who both can, and will, stand up to her, in Lady Ayn." replied Sylphiel.

Milgasa added "Yes, a dragon squire has a few rare privealges with the Knight, such as speaking, and also standing, up to the Knight. I gather from some things Lady Ayn has said that Lady Luna is actually restraining herself these days, and begining to grow up. It must have been hell for Lady Lina in their youth."

Sylphiel nodded then said "Yes, but Miss Lina herself has said that she brought at least some of the evil on herself, so it's hard to judge what is Miss Luna's perhaps less than, uh, benevolent nature, and what is her reacting to Miss Lina's less than, oh, cautious one. A personality clash perhaps?"

Zel nodded. "Yeah, and kids learn all about power early, and humility and just being a grown up late. If ever. Well, if I'm a modle that is..." he said.

Sylphiel smiled. "We all do it. I had my phases too, where I'd fight for my toy or my territory, or even my crush."

"Really?" smirked Zel. "You showed remerkable restraint with Lina then..."

Sylphiel blushed, and said "I was rather over it when she came along, besides, even though I was still all consumed with my passion for him, I think I had already realised Gourry dear, er, I mean Mr. Gourry was just so not into me like I was in to him. I guess I just hoped he'd come around. Oh my, I haven't called him that for a long time now, he, he. Oh, but I do remember that there was a girl back when I was sixteen, or was it fifteen, that made a disparaging remark about someone I had a crush on, and got a rather badly scratched face for it..."

"Sylphiel the wicked woman! You shatter my illusions, I'm shocked!" teased Zel.

"Mr. Zelgadiss!" she replied with a blush, then broke out giggling. "Well, it just shows I'm not perfect..."

"Thank the gods for that!" said Zel."Perfect people are sooooo boring!"

Sylphiel giggled again, then said "And what about you, Mr.Zel? Is it just me or do you seem less anxious these days?"

Zel sighed. "No, I'm as all consumed as ever, but this mission is heavy and it distracts me from myself. Not a bad thing, perhaps. And I do have my lighter moments, even though they usually don't seem to be marked by those I'm with. I guess I'm too well known for my angst, and no one sees the last vestages of my human self when they poke through..."

Sylphiel outright laughed at that, a very pleasant sound. Milgasa weighted in as well. "Yes, just keep that up, Mr. Zelgadiss, I can feel you growing heavier with each layer of gloom that adheres to you."

Zel tried to frown, but ended up snickering too. "Now, now you two, please don't ruin my reputation on me..."

A short time later the dragons took a lazy turn to the right, the dash west had begun. Well, not a dash, as such, they had to time it to the sun's rising after all...

"YEEE HAWWW! GiddyYap!" shouted an exuberant Luna. This was followed by a frustrated bark form Ayn. "I-Am-Not-a-HORSE!!" she shouted back.

"You're a mount and that's all that matters!" Luna shouted with a devil may care tone of voice.

"I'm a WHAT!!" replied Ayn, hottly.

By now Milgasa had gotten in close and said, more calmly "Sound carrier very far up here, you know..."

"Oh come on, we must be five miles or more." said Luna. "We can't reach the island with our noise from here."

"Maybe, maybe not." replied Milgasa. "Who says Beastmaster's first line of warning is on the island though?"

"Oh, oops, hadn't thought of that..." said Luna more quietly. She leaned over to Ayn and whispered "Sorry 'bout that..."

"Hey?" said Ayn. "Speak up a bit, I didn't quite hear you..." she went on in a tone that suggested she had.

Luna raised her voice a little bit and said "I said "Yeee Hawww! GiddyYap..."".

Ayn fumed. "If I was free to talk..."

Luna smirked.

"Hey, how are you guys enjoying the ride?" Gourry called over to Sylphiel and Zel.

"Couldn't be better!" replied Sylphiel.

"Well, the hot sun could be up, and we could be on our way to a romantic picnic, but yeah, it's just great." added Zel, causing Sylphiel to giggle again.

"What were you two laughing about a while back?" asked Lina, with a smile.

"Oh, uh, we were just talking..."said Sylphiel, extra sweetly, while Zel did his best to avoid looking at Lina.

"Huh? About what?" Asked Lina, not smiling now.

"Er, well, that is..." said Zel.

"Uh, yeah..." added Sylphiel.

"I'm getting out of range." put in Milgasa as he banked left and away, then went into a shallow dive while banking right, until he had Ayn directly above him.

"Gyahh!" snarled Lina. "That does it, I'm gonna get some practice in and fireball those two! Ayn, get them in view will ya please?"

"Errrrrr, uh, Lina?" said Gourry, not sure how Ayn might accomplish that.

"You want I should do a half roll?" asked Ayn, apparently seriously.

"Go for it!" said Luna, snickering at her sister.

"Er, no..." said Lina, deciding that discression was perhaps the better part of valor, at least in this case.

"Well, I'll see what I can do..." the dragon woman said. With that, she grinned wickedly, which was rather scary seeing that she was in dragon form, and began to slowly but definitly sink straight down, right on top of where Milgasa was...

Of course, Milgasa's first response was to sink as well, but there was only so much room before he hit the ocean, and they both knew it...

"Atta girl!" enthused Luna. "No one laughes at my baby sister!"

"Hey?" said Lina, looking grateful. Luna was on her side!

Until Luna added, with a backwards smirk at Lina "Without sharing the joke that is..."

Lina smacked her forehead with her palm, fell for it again...

By now they were far down, and Milgasa was getting perilously close to the water. Zel and Sylphiel exchanged gulps and wondered how this was going to end.

"We could volunteer to surrender ourselves afterwards..." said Zel.

"Yeah, but she'd hold us to it." answered Sylphiel.

"We aren't beat yet, but you better hold on tight..." said Milgasa with a hint of a chuckle in his voice.

Zel and Sylphiel gripped whatever they could and Milgasa zoomed ahead suddenly, then pulled a tight loop and ended up behind Ayn. Well, that was what he was trying to do, but of course she guessed his intentions and pulled up sharply too. So, for a turn or two, the two dragons chased each other around, Ayn trying to get Milgasa off her tail, and Milgasa managing to just stay there.

Needless to say, none of the riders were thinking about fireballs at this point in time, staying on was more the order of the day, even for Luna. To make matters worse, their commands to stop, and their pleas for mercy were unheeded by their reptilian mounts. Even the warnings of impending nausea seemed to fall on deaf ears...

It was Milgasa's words that finally ended it. He waited until they had passed the top of a loop and were on their way back down, then said, in a strangely "matter of fact" voice "I must say, I'm getting a nice view back here, Lady Ayn, especially with the sun about to rise."

"What does THAT mean?" Ayn shot back.

"I'm just curious," Milgasa went on, "do Black Dragons do this as part of the mating flight? We Golds have no such custom..."

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??" Ayn shouted again. Of course she got it...

And if she didn't, Luna helpfully filled it in for her. "See? I told you he had the hots for you! He's saying you have a nice ass!"

"Gyah!" shrieked Ayn, dropping her tail suddenly to preserve her dignity, and almost dunking into the sea as a result of the sudden loss of flight control.

They pulled out just in time, but now Ayn was, to say the least, peeved...

She shot forward until she could glare at Milgasa. For a minute she seemed about ready to give him a tongue lashing, then she obviously thought the better of it, and took an ominous big breath in...

There was going to be some serious fire breath action...

"Target in sight..." said Milgasa quietly, nodding to the west where an evil looking island was rising out of the sea to meet them. He glanced back and saw the sun was also just rising behind them. They had arrived on time.

"Later..." said Ayn in a quiet, dangerous voice. Luna supressed a giggle and said "Okay, get ready everyone!"

The group looked out at the rapidly approaching rock. As described, it was a tall, ominous flat topped pillar of gigantic proportions, easily five hundred feet across, maybe more. At it's base was a big jumble of surprisingly sharp rocks. You just so didn't want to fall...

The rest of the island was a flat, forested afair, maybe a mile at it's longest length. They couldn't see the backside of the island, but it seemed that the flat part was mostly on the side of the island facing the mainland. There was a little bay of sorts on the end of the island where a small boat might make a safe harbour, if one could be found willing to commit suicide by trying...

Sylphiel spoke up then. "Mr. Zelgadiss? Miss Lina? Do you feel anything funny going on with your magic? Mine feels weak suddenly..."

"Hey??" said Lina, startled. She concentrated then gasped. "It's not just you, Sylphiel, I feel it too! What the hell?"

"As do I." said a concerned Zel. "Wait! Wasn't there something in one of those books about magic not working properly on the island?"

"Yeah, I think there was..." said Lina, thoughtfully.

Sylphiel nodded. "I suppose no one remembers it?" she asked, fearing she knew the answer already...

She did...

Luna frowned, deep in thought. She made a quick decision. "Okay, if we don't have any magic it's Gourry and me against Wolfpack island. Not good. We're stopping this thing."

"But we're so close." That was Ayn.

"Well, what of it?" asked a perplexed Luna.

"Okay, we'll do what you say, but let's at least over fly the island so we get an idea what we will have to deal with the next time we get here, after we figure out the way to get around the magic supression." Ayn replied.

"Is that wise?" said Milgasa. "What if we are attacked?"

"Well, if they aren't expecting us, won't we be able to get away?" asked Sylphiel. "I mean, my magic was fine until now, and I'll bet as we go away it will return."

"Yes, it feel supressed, not gone." added Lina.

Zel spoke up and said "We're here, turn back or go on, but decide now..."

Luna opened her mouth to speak but Ayn interupted "Wait! There's someone on the far side of the top of the island, someone with blonde hair! Filia?"

"You think?" said Luna. "Oh CEIPHIED! What to do?"

"Well, we are now flying over the island." said Milgasa. "If we wanted to escape undetected, we are too late."

"C-can you grab her?" asked Lina. "Grab Filia?"

Milgasa blinked. "I suppose..." he said, uncertainly.

Luna hesitated. Ayn said, urgently, "Can we afford to miss this chance?"

Luna said "Yes. No. Oh hell! Go for it!!"

The dragons swooped low with Milgasa out in the lead. The blonde girl was standing on the bluff of the cliff, looking out over the western sea, wrapped in a cloak as if to ward off the chill from the wind. She hadn't detected them yet, thank goodness. No alarm.

Until Gourry raised one.

"Lina. Aren't there supposed to be two blonde ladies on this island?" he asked.

"Yeah! Hey, are we sure that's Filia? Not, not... her??" said Lina in a panic.

Too late, Milgasa was upon the blonde woman, and with a quick, clean movement, he snatched her up in his claws...

The woman gave a little scream of surprise. Then, silence...

"Miss Filia?" said Milgasa, as they flew out to sea again.

"Eh?" said the woman in Milgassa's claws.

"You're safe now, you may not realise it, but you've been rescued." said Ayn, trying to sound reassuring.

There was a silence, a very ominous silence, then the blonde girl answered "Oh?"

"Come on, Filia. put in Lina. "Don't be like that. I know things must have been rough for you, but believe it or not, you do have friends. We would have come to you at once, if we had known about the attack on you and baby Val. We are sorry we didn't know sooner. Please, don't give up on us, we do want to help you..."

"Then let me go..." said the blonde girl quietly. They strained to hear her. Was it Filia's voice?

"We are taking you home..." said Ayn, softly.

"I was home..." said the girl, still softly.

"No, I mean back to your kind, to the dragons." said Ayn.

There was an omonous pause, then Filia said, in a voice that didn't sound right, and was way too amused "Well, which is it? My kind or the dragons?" As she spoke, she managed to bring her right arm out from the cloak and the grip of Milgassa's claws.

"When did Filia start smoking?" asked Sylphiel in a very, very quiet voice...

"Worst case scenario..." said Luna reaching for her sword...

"And you're the Knight of Ceiphied?" asked an amused Beastmaster as she finally turned and showed her face. Her smile was pure wickedness. "We meet at last, Luna Inverse. And if I get my way, it'll be for the last time, too. And as for you, you must be that waste of dragon flesh called Milgasa." she sneered at the dragon holding her. "Take me back to my island now and I'll leave your fate to Xellos. Don't and you'll deal with me!"

"Same difference, isn't it?" said Milgasa with a shrug. True, he was frightened of Xellos' ability and greater power, and had admitted as much to Lina in the past, but on the other hand, he wasn't a craven, and seeing that they were in the thick of it already he was determined to make the best go of it that he could...

To that end he swept around to the island as if he was going to return Zelas, but, at the last second he turned sharply so that he dipped below the top of the mountain. With a quick flick of his wrist he tossed her hard at the rock wall and did a wheeling dive while shouting "FLEE!"

It was all Sylphiel and Zel could do to hang on.

Ayn also wheeled around and the two dragons poured out every ounce of energy they could in accelerating from the island.

Behind them, Zelas gave a scream of surprise, and smacked against the rock wall. Hey, that actually hurt! She grabbed her painful nose as she started to fall...

Alas, it wasn't so big a deal to her. The others couldn't use magic, but she had no problem, so after a second or two of rubbing her bruises and cursing stupid dragons she reached out with her power and started to fly. And she was able to accelerate much faster than the dragons, unfortunately. She came up rapidly from behind, like some sort of vengance weapon, which, given her state of mind, she was, basically...

She zoomed ahead of the fleeing group then wheeled sharply around. "Going so soon? I must apologise, I seem to forget my manners back there. Won't you stay and visit? We could have such a lovely chat..." she sneered.

"Chat is it?" replied Luna. "Why not just say fight?"

"You got my meaning anyway, why should I?" said Zelas, lifting her hand and pointing her finger. Then, without her having to chant, a silver ribbon of light shot forth from her finger, straight at Milgasa.

Lina got it. "Zelas Brid!" she screamed, naming the spell.

Milgasa ducked and weaved fast. Ayn did the same, trying to run interference, as she sensed Milgasa was the prime target owing to his attacking Zelas.

"Zelas Brid?" asked Luna through gritted teeth. Lina explained, her own teeth gritted as well. "A spell I invented, it calls on Zelas' power and it makes that deadly ribbon of light that she's throwing around. It's like Dynast Brass in power and destructive ability, which means it's really bad news, but it can be aimed as it's being cast, which makes it worse in this case, as dodging it's gonna be a bitch..."

"No shit..." said Luna.

"Did you ever notice how much you swear when you get frightened?" asked Gourry.

Lina hid her face in her hands, then immediately regretted it as she had to grab on for dear life from Ayn's erratic dodging flight. "Yeah..." she had to admit..

"It's okay Sis, you get it honestly. Mom does the same thing..." said Luna, her own voice genuinely nervous, as she held tight while Ayn made a swooping dive to avoid a whipping with the ribbon of light.

Lina went on "What I don't get is, how did Beastmaster get it? I invented it..."

A piercing laugh split the air. "Do you know, Lina Inverse, that I can hear you all? What a question. Humans are truely stupid, and boastfull in their stupidity!" shouted a way too boastful sounding Zellas. "You? Invent Zelas Brid? Or any human invent any Mazoku's spell? Nah! You just figured out how to tap into what we could already do. Even your much vaunted Dragon Slave was in much use when my Father was whole and the only one who knew it."

"Silly humans, ticks are for Mazoku! Including this one!" she suddenly screamed. As she had been boasting and insulting Lina she had also been craftily maneuvering. She saw that Ayn had temporarily been distracted by the conversaion, and suddenly she changed the focus of her attack. The old ribbon that was trying to cut down Milgassa faded as a new one suddenly shot out and made straight for the Black Dragon. Ayn tried to evade it and, fortunately, she was partly successful. Atleast she didn't get killed, but there was no denying that it had to hurt, there was just too much of that genuine pain quality in her scream.

In response to this Milgasa wheeled sharply, slewing his helpless riders around sharply, and charged Zelas. The only sound he made was a deep indrawing of breath, then, as he came into range, he erupted in a tremendous spout of incredibly hot fire. Ayn joined in as she wheeled around and shot a bolt of her laser breath towards her blonde enemy.

"Oh, very good!" said an unimpressed Zelas as she simply stepped through the Astral Plane and reappeared behind them.

Not good...

What was worse, all this time, Zelas had managed to keep the dragons near the island, and the magic users were forced to sit there, totally helpless. It was a very unpleasant time for them all, indeed.

"So, you are just going to toy with us are you?" sneered Luna in an attempt at bravado. "A great Beast Master, and you can't get beyond the level of a cat?"

As she spoke the dragons wheeled again and regrouped over the island. They charged cautiously towards Zelas. It was obvious they were begining to tire.

Zelas sneered and replied to Luna as she backed up just fast enought to frustrate the dragons efforts to reach her.

"You want games? Okay, I'll give you a game. It's called "Outrace certain death". Here's how it works. You zoom past me now and as you do I'll start to cast a spell. When I do you'll have to out run it, or else. Or we can just keep on going the way we are right now until your mounts fall from the sky. Your choice..."

Ayn and Milgasa looked at each other. Go for it!" they said together, kicking their speed up to full out and making for the mainland.

As they passed Zelas she began to chant. Lina screamed as she recognised it.

"You, who are darker than twilight,  
You, who are more crimson than flowing blood,  
You, who are buried in passing time.

"Dragon Slave" shouted Lina in warning. "Get going, if we can get beyond the magic dampening field Sylphiel and I may be able to block it..." She looked over to the Temple maiden. By now Sylphiel's face was as white as her magic, but she bravely nodded. Lina smiled what she hoped was an encouraging smile back to her.

The dragons needed no further urging, they flew like the wind itself.

"In your name, the Great One,  
I pledge myself to darkness, That to those fools who stand in our way,  
You and I together will give ruin and no one can escape from us"

Zelas turned to face the fleeing dragons and raised her hands. Lina glanced back and gasped. The spell was ready to cast, but they were nowhere near far enough.

And not even with her power amplifiers on full could Lina have generated a pink ball, which was the sign of an unexploded Dragon Slave, that glowed so brightly.

This was going to be fatally big...

Zelas raised her hands fully.

"DRAGON SLAVE!"

The ball launched. In what seemed like an instant it shot between them. Such was it's power it actually radiated enough energy to burn as it sped past.

"Back!" shouted Ayn as the dragons instinctively wheeled around and flew back towards the island trying to out distance the spell. A futile task, but, what else could they do?

For several frantic, hopeless seconds they sped on with no explosion. It was illogical, but their emotions were so wound up they couldn't help themselves. Everyone hoped the spell had missfired. Even Lina couldn't stop herself.

Then hope was dashed. A bright white glare from behind. It was terrible for it's heat. Ayn screamed in pain.

"What's wrong?" shouted Luna, totally afraid now too, perhaps for the first time in her life. Of course, she had never faced Beast Master before either, and she knew, as did Zelas, that Luna was not a match for her, even though she had more strength than Xellos.

Ayn screamed again, obviously something hurt.

"It's her black skin!" shouted Milgassa. "It's absorbing the heat that my golden skin is reflecting. She's burning!" He tried to get behind her to shade her as best he could.

Then the glare stopped.

"Shockwave!!" shouted Zel, looking back.

A wall of supercompressed air was rushing towards them at the speed of sound, a little over seven hundred miles per hour. It was going to hit like a runaway freight train made of steel encased granite.

If only they had freight trains...

And they were flying back towards the island too, no magical protection was possible.

They managed to pass a sadistically laughing Zelas before it hit...

There was no warning, one instant they were flying, the next instant they were pushed by an enormous hand. No, not pushed. Punched...

They jolted forward, twisting and turning in the turbulence. The noise was unbelievable, except you couldn't ignore it, it was too loud. The riders were rapidly using the last of their strength to hold on.

Zelas seemed unaffected by it all. With a smirk, the raised her hand again, and shot a ribbon of light at Milgasa. Revenge at least for his attack...

The Zelas Brid was deliberately weak, she wanted to play. It smacked up against Milgasa's chest as he attempted to rise above the island. He gave a shout of pain and fell.

It was a short fall, but it was totally out of control. He slammed into the ground, sliding towards the edge, and it was more by luck and friction that he didn't go over. But he was stunned and unable to move...

Ayn screamed in rage and frustration. "This mission is ending in Chaos..." sobbed, yes, sobbed, Luna.

Lina blinked once. Her sister in tears and helpless was a new one for her.

Then she blinked twice. "What did you say?" she half shouted, half screamed at Luna.

Luna blinked. "The mission. It's in chaos..." she repeated, uncertainly.

Lina very suddenly, and very violently gave her self several blows up against the head while shouting "StupidStupidStupidStupidStupid!!"

"Lina!" shouted Luna and Gourry together.

"No time!" shouted Lina back. Luna! I need your seat. Ayn, I need your speed!"

"Huh? W-what?" said Luna as she vacated her spot for Lina.

"What's going on?" said Ayn, exhaustion and fear in her voice.

"She can block most magic with her strength, of course she can." said Lina. "But some magics are stronger than she is! Stupid Lina! They should work here, they must!"

"Huh?" said Luna, Ayn, and Gourry together.

Lina didn't explain, she just chanted.

"Lords of Darkness of the Four Worlds,  
I call upon you.  
Grant me all the power that you possess."

There was a sudden glow that radiated from the four multi coloured jewels Lina was wearing on various parts of her body.

"The demon blood talismans!" said Gourry.

"She can't block the magic of the higher beings, including her own father, though she could block my access to it because I'm a human. But the Talismans aren't!" explained Lina in a hurry.

"And now that I have the talismans operating, I can tap into a magic she can't block, ever!"

The petite sorceress turned to the dragon she was riding. "Lady Ayn, charge Zelas like you have never charged anything before!" she said.

"What??" said a shocked Ayn.

"NOW." commanded Lina in a voice that was to be obeyed. Ayn wheeled and put all she had left into the charge.

Lina stood up.

"Careful Sis!" said Luna as she and Gourry moved to help Lina balance.

"What, tired of life already?" sneered Zelas as she saw them wheel and dive at her.

Then she heard Lina's words...

"Lord of the teriffying dreams,  
Sword of cold and darkness,  
Free yourself from the bonds of heaven.

Become one with my power, one with my body,  
And let us walk the path of destruction together.

Power that can smash even the souls of the gods."

There was the slightest pause, then Lina screamed the release words, in unbridled fury, adding immense emotional strength to the magic...

"RAGUNA BLADE!"

There was no mistaking the terror and panic in Zelas' scream. "GRANDMOTHER??"

Lina's guess had been right...

Ayn bore down on Zelas like lightning.

Zelas twisted and dove as fast.

A tremendous black blade of jagged energy shot from Lina's hands. It was more intense than usual, owing to Lina's aggitated state. As they dove past she swung for all she was worth.

Zelas was lucky, she came within an inch of joining her brother Hellmaster in eternal nothingness. She screamed in pain as a large lock of blonde hair floated away from her head, proving that it was part of her projected avatar, not real hair. There was a flash, and she escaped into the Astral Plane...

"She's gone..." gasped Luna.

The blade faded from Lina's hands, as it went so did her strength. She pitched forward, but was grabbed back by Gourry.

"To Milgasa." Luna said to Ayn, who was already on final approach.

"And a breather..." panted the dragon woman. They bounced a little hard on touch down, but, who could blame Ayn?

The humans were off in a flash and ran towards Milgasa. By now he had staggered on to his feet and seemed to be groggily looking for something.

As the three people approached he looked over and said, in a thick voice "They're gone, I can't find them..."

"Huh? Who?" asked Lina, fearing the worst. She hadn't seen them...

"My riders. I stopped just short of the cliff, I don't think they did..."

The group gasped and ran to the edge of the cliff. Lina shouted out at the top of her lungs "Zel? Zelgadiss? Sylphiel?"

The distant roar of the breakers washing over the jagged rocks a thousand feet down was the only answer...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" she screamed, dropping to her hands and knees, unable to stand. Gourry knelt down and grabbed her into a tight hug. Luna cried openly and said "This is my fault! I should have turned us back! What the hell kind of leader am I?"

"A bad one I'm sure..." said a calm, too calm, voice.

The Slayers, what was left of them, turned with a start.

A tall, pale complexioned lady with hair of such a dark blue it was almost black, stood a distance away from them. She was done up with her long hair in two buns, one on either side of the head, with a long pony tail hanging down from each one. Her dress was also rather becoming, once one got used to the fact it looked as if it was made of various kinds of sea weeds and sea shells...

She was eyeing them cooly, her face expressionless, yet, not flat. It was a creepy effect, actually...

"Ah..." was all Luna could say.

Lina slowly got to her feet with Gourry's help and Ayn helped Milgasa to close ranks with the humans, facing the newcomer.

The lady seemed not to care. "Is my sister around?" she asked. "I was invited to tea, it's not like her to keep me waiting."

"Sister...?" said Luna.

"Lady Greater Beast, of course..." said the woman.

It was confirmed. They had driven Zelas away, just in time for Deep Sea Dolphin to arrive...

Would it never end?

"Ah, I do believe she just stepped out for a minute." said Luna, very politely. "And for that matter we were going as well..."

Dolphin nodded. "Good idea, Luna Inverse. After almost decapitating my sister Zelas with the Raguna Blade I doubt your sister Lina will have the strength to summon the Giga Slave when she gets back, and brother Dynast has joined us..."

There was a stunned silence on the part of the Slayers. So, Zelas had been looking for her visitors. That's why she was standing on the edge of the cliff...

Dolphin said, quietly, "This is the part where you run away..."

The humans started to move. The went to the dragons and mounted. Milgasa insisted he was alright to fly, but Ayn insisted the humans would ride with her until they crossed the channel and were back on the mainland. The seating arrangements were made quickly, and with a painful flap on the part of both the dragons, the group was up and away. When they were sure they were far enough away for magic to work Lina cast a "Recovery" spell on Ayn, then collapsed in tears beside her sister, who was already sobbing... 


	14. Chapter 14

Shortly after the would be rescuers left Zelas reappeared on her island. She gave her sister a stare as she readjusted her repaired hair, then said "You let them go?"

Dolphin just shrugged. "I was not interested in fighting just now." she replied quietly."When does brother Dynast arrive?"

Zelas frowned at Dolphin then shrugged as well. It was too late now...

"When we see him, I guess. I told him to arrive at the same time I told you." she said, answering her sister.

"And he has..." said a new, masculine voice as the third and last remaining Mazoku High Lord materialised beside his two sisters. "Now, what do you want, sister dear?" he asked Zelas, getting straight to the point.

"Why, to discuss how to use the looming dragon war to our advantage, of course." said Zelas, trying not to sound exasperated. Sheesh, why did he think she had invited them to tea?

Dynast gave a small, cold smile. "Not looming anymore, sister. There was a raid last night by some Black Dragons on a fleeing band of Golden Dragons, mostly women and children. Many casualties. Now the Golds have mobilised their army, such as it is, and the order is to kill the Black Dragons wherever found. It seems the White Dragons are in league with the Golden dragons because of old bad blood with the Blacks, so they are mobilising to help "Protect their fellow Dragons". Naturally, the Dimos Dragons can't stand for this, they will have to take sides or risk having everyone turn against them in common cause. I suspect they are more likely to back the Blacks, so the battle lines are drawn. It's just a case of when they meet as to when the war breaks out into the open."

Zelas smiled a big, happy, and terribly evil, smile. "Then, let's go have that tea and discuss what we can do to make this as long and as violent as possible. Oh, if only we can get the dragons to kill each other to the last one, he, he, and I have her..."

"Yes, do tell us about this new pet of yours..." said Dolphin as they entered into the island...

Meanwhile, the two escaping dragons tried to keep a stiff upper lip for the sake of their flying, and the humans tried to keep a stiff upper lip for the sake of the dragons, but when they reached the other shore and were down on the ground again they all spent a long time weeping with a great grief.

Finally the mourning slowed, the pain was still great, but the need to act slowly reasserted itself and the gang knew they had to get on with deciding what came next.

"Stupid Lina, Stupid Lina, Stupid Lina..." Lina kept muttering as she went to get a drink of water and bring some back for her sister and Gourry.

Gourry got up to help her. He tried to give her a hug but she pushed him off. "Oi, Lina..." he said quietly. Lina stopped as her eyes welled up again, turned, and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry Gourry, I'm so mixed up inside, I don't know what to do. They're gone Gourry, we lost them. All because I was too stupid to remember that no one can block Chaos magic. She didn't seal my magic like Mazenda did, it was just supressed. The Chaos magic could have worked. They should still be alive, but they trusted a stupid idiot..."

Luna came over, her face so wet with her tears that her bangs were plastered back and her eyes, red with her own weeping, were completely visible. "They did, but her name was Luna, not Lina. Sis, we were all hanging on tight as the dragons did their evassive flying, it's no wonder you didn't remember the Chaos magic. But by all the gods, good and bad, I made the decision to attack when there was no distraction. I was leading, and I lead us into a trap. I should have been the one to plunge to my death. Oh Lina! Please, forgive me, I-I should be horsewhipped until the flesh falls off my back for this. I was so full of stupid pride that I thought I could cock a snook at Beastmaster and make off with her pet dragon right under her nose."

Lina reached out and drew Luna into the hug with Gourry. "I should have spoken up sooner..." said Gourry, quietly.

"I should have kept my mouth shut about the blonde." said an equally weepy Ayn. And since she was still in her true dragon form, she was really weepy...

"I too was caught up in the hope that we had been given a rare opportunity, and refused to think of anything but success even though I wondered if we had made the right identification. I was so eager to have a victory that I threw my own caution to the winds." That was Milgasa.

"We failed, and two of our members paid the ultimate price..." said Luna after a bit more weeping. "We must go back and heal our wounds and then decide what to do. I just hope she doesn't come after us. Can you two morph back? I don't imagine we'll be flying for a bit, but we might be able to walk to a village and get some rest and food."

Ayn and Milgasa both said they could, and they did, not bothering to hide from the others this time. They seemed, well, not to notice. Both were bruised and looked very sore, they limped rather than walked. Perhaps significantly, they supported each other as they walked along.

Lina was able to pull herself together and use a Raywing to scout out a small hamlet a few miles away. If they paced themselves they should arrive by early afternoon.

With crushed spirits, they set off, more shuffling than walking...

On Wolfpack Island there was a sheer stone wall which plunged a thousand feet to jagged rock whch were lapped by stong waves from the sea.

Or so it seemed.

But, if anyone had really looked, they would have noticed a small ledge jutting out from one part. Not much, just a couple of feet or so, really, and from about twenty or so feet up, someone looking down might be forgiven for missing it. It lead into a small crack in the rock face, a small grotto more than a cave as such. A place where raptors might nest, though none were there right now. Which was good, the last thing its current occupants needed was an angry eagle mother bearing down on them.

For a very long time there was a silence like death. Then a blue head began to move as his bleary eyes opened to pain. Shortly after, a head wreathed in black did much the same thing. This one wept from her pain. "Was I so bad that I should end up in hell?" she whispered. "I tried to be good, I really did..."

"Nah..." said the blue head after a minute. "If this is hell we are missing the Jigoku Shoujo..."

Another pause, and the black head asked "No Enma Ai? Are we alive then, Mr. Zelgadiss? I didn't know the human body could take such pain, and live..."

"I guess we were wrong..." replied Zel quietly.

Time passed, the two people hovered in and out of twilight conciousness for a while then, slowly, became fully awake.

Zel noticed that he seemed to be padded somehow as he lay on the rocks. It finally dawned on him that he was indeed being padded, by Sylphiel. He gave a grunt of pain and moved to get up, causing Sylphiel to scream in agony at being jarred around. But, he could do nothing if he stayed on top of her, so he apologised, gritted his teeth to his own pain and got off of her as quickly as he could while still being gentle. It still hurt her terribly.

He looked very worried as he began to examine her. She was badly banged and scratched from the fall, and the dubious miracle of slamming on top of him, flipping into the cave, and having him come down on top of her. He feared a permanent injury and began to systematically examine all of her body. He had to admit there were times when the cursed body his grandfather had given him had its uses. He had been badly rattled by the fall too, but he had come out of it in relatively good shape. Of course, if he had plunged the full thousand feet...

He refocused on Sylphiel, started with her neck, and found a miracle! It wasn't broken. He moved down her back and found, by stages, that it too had managed to remain in one piece. Sylphiel seemed to regain focus from Zel's probings and joined him in the examination as best she could. It took a while but eventually it was determined that her greatest injury was a badly sprained, or possibly broken (or even both), ankle on her left leg, almost certainly the foot that had impacted the back wall of the crack they were now in as she swung inside.

Other injuries were painful ribs, there might be a crack in one of them, a badly shaken body, a terrible, terrible headache, and lots of dried blood on her face indicitave of a nosebleed, though the nose itself seemed to have avoided an actual break. Her teeth were sore, but the jaw moved fine, and there were no obviously broken teeth, though the front ones felt loose. On her left hand the little finger was sore and swollen to immobility, a possible fracture. But miraculously, the only word to describe it, there were no major shattered bones, and certainly nothing as dangerous as having bone fragments puncturing the skin, or an internal organ.

In other words, she would hurt like hell, but Sylphiel would live.

"It's too bad our magic is supressed, I can't even cast a healing spell..." said Zel sofly.

Sylphiel nodded. "Just as well..." she said through gritted teeth after she spat out a mouthful of old blood. "The Mazoku woman would almost certainly detect it, and, well, come..."

She didn't have to say it, it was understood, if they thought they were in pain now...

Eventually Zel was able to get her into a more natural position. He was sitting and she was lying straight, well, more or less, with her head on his lap, the softest thing immediatley available. They were so cramped that to get their cloaks off they would have to stand, and neither of them was quite ready for that. Sylphiel appologised for the imposition, and Zel countered by admitting that he could have enjoyed this if they were in kinder circumstances. Sylphiel tried to giggle, but the chest pain brought her up short...

Stll, life continued and eventally Sylphiel was able to sit. She was dizzy at first but soon straightened around. Zel stood up finaly,and took his cloak off and covered her as best he could. He then took his water bottle off his belt and gave her a drink. The poor girl only realised how thirsty she was then, and ended up drinking much of it before being able to stop. "Oh no, what am I doing? We will need that water later, I'm sure..." she moaned.

"You need it now." said Zel. "Don't worry about later until it gets here. Besides, I always store a spare bottle in my coak."

"YYou do? So do I." said Sylphiel, a bit surprised, and relieved. "Oh, and silly me, I feel it now, I have my bottle on my belt still too..."

"So you see?" said Zel in a kindly voice. "You needen't be so worried..."

They were silent again for awhile then Sylphiel asked "Please tell me the truth Mister Zelgadiss, is there any way down?"

"Oh heck yeah." said Zel. "We can either tunnel our way in and use the stairs, or take one really big step..."

He regretted his words almost immediately as Sylphiel hung her head. "Look, Miss Sylphiel, I'm sorry, that's just my particular sick sense of gallows humour coming out. I'm, well, a little stressed too. The truth is, I haven't had a chance to assess our situation fully. We may be looking at the worst case scenario, but I don't know for sure, yet."

"It's okay, I suspected we were just delaying the invitable anyway." she replied quietly. "And there was still so much I wanted to do..." she added, with quiet regret.

"I do know what you mean." Zel said in soft reply.

They were silent for awhile, being shaken up was not very inducive to conversation, after all, then Zel remarked "I see the sun has come around here and is looking low. We must be on the west of the tower."

"Oh yes, it is." said Sylphiel. "It's warmer now. Blessed sun..."

Zel nodded then said "Conditions seem right, I wonder if we will get to see the green flash?"

"The what?" asked Sylphiel.

"Have you never heard of the green flash?" asked Zel. When she shook her head no he went on and explained. "No one knows why, but sometimes, just as the top of the sun sets, and conditions are perfect, there is said to be an emerald green flash of light marking the exact second the sun drops below the horizon. It doesn't happen often, conditions have to be just so, and it most often happens on a horizon formed by a calm sea. We have one this evening, maybe we can see a flash. I never have, I'd like to do that at least once in my life." (1)

Sylphiel nodded. "Yes, maybe we can see that much before the end. It would be nice to think that even in this evil place some kind of beauty can reach out and be seen."

Zel smiled. "Actually, this place is full of beauty, we are just not in a position to appreciate it is all. The rocks, the sea, even the sound, if we were here for a visit under friendly circumstances there's be no problem seeing it all, but we aren't so, we don't..."

Sylphiel smiled. "Yes, I guess so, it doesn't pay to be gloomy no matter what." she said. "I just wish..." she said, drifting off whistfully.

"Wish?" asked Zel with a sad smile.

Sylphiel was silent for a minute and had a little frown on her face. She seemed to blush before she spoke her next sentence. "Actually, right now, I wish I didn't have to, uh, that is..."

"Number one, or number two?" asked Zel gently, guessing at the cause of her discomfort.

"One for now..." said Sylphiel, blushing harder and giving an embarassed smile.

"Yes, I've been getting that way too, actually." said Zel. "Well, look, let's be honest, there will be no privacy here, and you just plain won't be able to do it by yourself anyway, not in your current shape. Please accept that we are in extraordinary circumstances and allow me to help you with this and anything else I can. I'm sorry this happened."

Sylphiel nodded. "Well, but if you had only let go like I told you to, then you'd not be here, and only one of us would have been lost." she said, softly.

Zel looked sad. "Sylphiel, I couldn't let you go. I had your wrist, and you were hanging over the abyss but you weren't falling because I was able to stop my own slide forward, and catch you just as you skidded off the lip of the cliff. I was braced with my other hand against what felt like firm rock, and if everything had held I'd have had you up. So, when you looked at me with that brave but hopeless look of yours and told me to let you go and save myself, I was determined to rescue you."

"But then the rock suddenly split under my hand and we both slipped over the edge. I guess the saving grace was that we had stopped moving forward and so we weren't carried out into free fall, but rather we slid down the sheer face of the cliff. That, and the fact that this ledge wasn't too far down or one of us would have tumbled out and dragged the other off the cliff face too. Instead, we somehow changed positions so I was below you when we hit it coming straight down, which let my chimeric body take the brunt of the impact, and by a miracle, I hope, we fell into this crack, which stopped us from falling further. Unfortunately, you flipped into the back wall and pulled me in on top of you at speed, or so it seems, given the way I ended up on top of you. I think we were both passed out by then from the initial impact."

Sylphiel smiled at Zel. "I am grateful to be alive, Mr. Zelgadiss. Even if it is only to continue the journey later when the thirst gets too bad." she then gave Zel an embarassed look again. "But I still have to..."

It took some doing, but eventually Zel got her to the edge of the crack, without making the pain impossible to bear. He helped her into a sort of an aimed squat, and most embarassing of all, he helped her bare the appropriate part of her anatomy. He then held her as she painfully relaxed herself enough to let the nessessary function occur. "This was definitely one of the few things in my life I never wanted to get hugged for..." she tried to joke, to ease the tension.

Zel smiled. "Pretend you're a pervert?" he joked back, also poorly. But Sylphiel was grateful and tried to giggle again, until her sore ribs stopped that...

"I'm sorry." said Zel as he helped her back into a safer position, dignity restored as much as possible.

"And nothing to wash with. Ewwwww, I feel so unclean..." said Sylphiel with a note of disgust...

"Oh well, my turn..." said Zel as he made his way to the opposite edge of the crack to also relieve himself.

After a bit, it occured to Sylphiel that Zel seemed to be standing there a long time. Were chimeras that different?

"Uh, is everything okay, Mr. Zelgadiss? We aren't about to be attacked or something, are we?" she asked, having a sudden vision of him standing there watching some horror steadily approach them.

Zel didn't respond immediately, but eventually he turned and looked at the dark haired Priestess with a strange, unreadable look. "Sylphiel, it's the stangest thing..." he said softly, almost wonderingly. She gave him a puzzled look, and so he went on. "Those rocks down below, you saw that they were sharp?" he asked. She nodded, and shuddered. He went on. "I don't suppose you saw exactly how sharp they are. Incredibly sharp. I know it sounds scary, but just follow me through here, I'm still piecing this out and your input would help, okay?"

Sylphiel shrugged then said "Uh, sure, Mr. Zelgadiss, I'm happy to help, I think..."

Zel went on and said "It's just that, I don't know if it was visible earlier, the light was wrong, but now, with the setting sun full on the rock wall here, it appears that something was broken off quite recently. I'm no expert in rock erosion, but I'm guessing maybe about a thousand years ago? About the time of the second war of the monsters fall. If my guess is correct there must have been a wide foot path that wound precariously around the tower from the ground to the top. This ledge must have been part of it, and the crack we are in is likely damage that was caused by the breaking off of the pathway. It must have been a tremendous force..."

Sylphiel managed a faint smile."I'm sure you are correct, Mr.Zelgadiss. It sounds reasonable."

"I'm not bringing this up for fun." Zel said, giving her a smile of his own as he realised it must have sounded silly to her. "The point is, there seems to be some traces of it left. No human could follow them to get away from here, but..."

"I am not a human, exactly..." he said softly.

Sylphiel blinked and looked confused. "I'm afraid that I don't follow you..." she said.

"It's a small chance, but I think I might be able to make it out, clinging to the rock wall." he explained.

Sylphiel's smile deepened and she exclaimed as happily as her injuries would let her. "How wonderful for you Zel! You can still get away. Oh that's great..."

Zel looked hard at her, then seemed to gulp, a little. "Are you always this good, Sylphiel?" he asked quietly.

Sylphiel gave him a puzzled look. "Good?" she asked."I, well, I don't think I'm as good as some people want to make me out to be, actually. But what do you mean?"

"You would really just wish me well and let me walk out of here, even though it meant abandoning you to certain death?" asked Zel. "I can assure you that if I can get out of here, I won't likely be able to get back, and returning with help will be far too long for you to survive under our present conditions."

"Well, yes, I would. We don't both need to die. And of course I'd like to come with you, but I can't, so, what's the point of being upset? I guess it's my time, I just never imagined it coming so soon..." she sighed. "Look, don't worry about me, it's important that you live. One of us should."

Zel looked at her for a long time, then he said "I won't be going tonight, it's too late and we will lose the light soon. And I'm still stiff and sore. Tommorrow, however, I will think on this. Hard..."

They huddled together against the cool of the evening as they watched the sun slowly set. They both knew fire was out of the question, even though there were some little bits of sticks left over from old nests and they might have had a brief one. But, no sense announcing that they were here, afer all. They really didn't say that much either. Now that they were a slight bit more comfortable they felt the need to sleep again, brought on by their injuries.

But they did manage to stay awake long enough to watch the sun set, and to their joy, there was indeed a green flash! "I know this sounds silly, but, it looked like hope, to me..." said Sylphiel as she snuggled against Zel.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(1) A "Green Flash" is an intense, brief flash visible under certain conditions following the moment the sun goes beyond the horizon. The phenomenon is due to refraction of light rays from the setting sun as they pass through the lower layers of the atmosphere. It can also be seen at sunrise under the right conditions just as the sun starts to clear the rim of the horizon. There are many web sites that discuss this, if you want to know more. Or for those of you who know the occult arts of Library Science, there is the Encyclopaedia... 


	15. Chapter 15

The trapped Slayers spent a painful night fitfully sleeping in their pain, in the cold, and in the absolute unyeilding hardness of their rocky perch. Still they were thankful enough not to be inside. They could only imagine what it was like in there. And so the night passed on the cliff face...

The trapped pair had been unable to avoid imagining what was going on inside the castle they were stuck on, but their imagination never included an all day tea party where Zelas and her siblings were busy trying to make the worst of a bad situation. It had taken a while, but they had hit upon a desperate plan that went far beyond anything they had originally intended when they agreed to meet.

Dynast was nodding as he mulled the plan. "It is almost perfect, you know, I'm sure there is a weakness, all plans have one, but I can't think of it. What do you think, dear sisters?"

Zelas grinned. "I like, I like...'

Dolphin was quiet, emotionless perhaps, no, not that, placid, like the outer calm surface of the ocean on a pleasant day, a calmness that belies the immense energy brooding in every drop of the deep. Until the time is right and the fury of the tidal wave shatters the unway forever...

"We must bend our all to silence, secrecy, and guarding. The weakness will be in the setting up. Once we can release we will have victory, until then, there are those capable of stopping us." she replied.

Zelas frowned. "And you had them in the palm of your hand, weak, tired, and vulnerable, and you let them go." she said rather annoyed, to her sister.

"Was I so unwise?" asked Dolphin with her infuriating calmness. "I had not had any chance to appraise myself of the situation, I knew not where my backup might be, or even if you were alive or dead. You did take a vicious swipe from the Raguna Blade, after all. And Mazoku or not, if you think I would take on the sisters Inverse, and the Blast Blade, plus two high dragons, in a rash, blind strike unaided, well, you must think me as silly as you, dear sister..."

"Hey! They came to me!" snarled Zelas. "And I almost had them, if only Lina Inverse hadn't called upon Grandmother. Oh by the sins of all the gods! Where does she get off granting her power to mere humans?"

"At the same place she gets off granting it to anyone else she chooses to." said Dolphin, still eerily calm.

"Now I see the weakness I was looking for." said Dynast in a matter of fact voice. "Our own internal bickering. Listen up you two, and get it. For this to succeed we have to work together, no matter how much it hurts us. This is too big for any one of us. Thankfully, we no longer have Gaav to try and oppose us, or Phibrizzo to try and run things in his own way. For once we might have a chance. A real chance. If we blow this, we are worse than the dragons and might as well do ourselves in."

The women looked at each other and looked as sheepish as mazoku high lords were capable of looking. Which was not very, but it was there. Subtily, if you knew where to look...

"Truce then." said Dolphin.

Zelas nodded and said "After this, none of it will matter anyway, so, yes, indeed, truce."

"Times three, so, settled." said Dynast.

"Now, about your dragon pet. Where is she? And where is that dear nephew of mine?" asked Dolphin, lightening a bit, perhaps...

"Ah, now, that is a tale!" said Zelas as she settled in to tell it. It took a long time as she didn't just hit upon the bare facts, but it was told skillfully enough that Dynast and Dolphin paid attention. And when she finally got to explaining what Xellos and Filia were up to right now, something else that Zel and Sylphiel never imagined, the normally cold Dyanast and calm Dolphin began to grin and even laugh.

"Well, when they are old enough to be weaned I want one!" said an actually amused Dynast. Dolphin nodded.

"We shall see." said Zelas. "Even I cannot predict exactly what we shall get yet, so let us wait and see, but, if they are what I hope for, well, if we have time, I will do what I can for us all. Oh yes, there may yet be dragon beings flashing through the skys in the future, but it maybe that they are all on our side!"

"Well, then, a toast, in tea, to that day!" said Dynast, holding up his cup. There was a clink at the two women joined him.

"Now then, to other matters." said Zelas, as she turned the talk to different, but equally evil things.

And so the night passed inside Zellas' fortress...

Meanwhile, back on the mainland, the travelers, weary and in pain, had limped slowly to the tiny village, a hamlet really, that Lina had seen. As predicted, it was after noon when they arrived. It turned out to be a small fishing village. The boats were out on the ocean, some could be seen as small white, or other coloured, sails on the water. Naturally that meant...

The days catch hadn't come in yet!

But, where that would have been a near disaster on any other day, no one in the group was hungry today...

The one who benefited was the local inn keeper who suddenly had five weary, and apparently thirsty, customers arrive at his establishment. As if by a pre-arranged plan they all asked for something called a "Boilermaker". Big ones...

Gold was quickly revealed not to be a problem as a years worth was suddenly plunked on the table in payment.

After an initial toast to "Zelgadiss and Sylphiel" there was an intense, and mostly silent round of drinking. And another. And maybe one more.

Lina slammed her mug onto the table. "I dont think this doing any good. I feel blury, but it still hurts, and I still remember." she said.

"It's okay sis, we are punishing ourselves, not trying to forget..." explained Luna.

"At least we had the sense not to tell them of our missing comrades." said Ayn. "I have a bad feeling that Bitchmaster would have done something bad to the bodies, just to spite us. Oh, and Lina, that was a great stroke with the Raguna Blade. I am sorry I couldn't get in closer."

Lina sighed. "I should have watched my aim better." she said, saddly.

"No, you both did it right, she just ducked too fast." said Gourry as he gently put an arm around his wife.

"This is going to hurt for a long time." said Ayn as she slumped into deep dejection. Surprisingly, Migasa put an arm around her for comfort. Perhaps more surprisingly, she sunk into his embrace.

Luna compensated for being the odd one out by drinking more deeply.

Eventually the drinks started kicking in and everyone was dropping off around the table. Somehow, somebody arranged two rooms and somehow Lina, Luna, and Gourry ended up in one room, and Ayn and Milgasa in the other.

And so the night passed in alcoholic fog for those on the mainland...

Late in the morning of the next day Lina awoke to discover herself in bed with Gourry...

And Luna??

She lay there, not daring to move for quite awhile as she tried to figure out what that must have meant. Well, let's see, they had their clothes on, so there was none of THAT to worry about, thankfully.

Was there?

Oh dear, how would they ever explain that to mommy and daddy?

Okay, they had gotten so drunk last night that they could have been done in by the lowest level mazoku out there and not even have noticed, so that must have been it, they just fell in bed to sleep...

She gave a sigh of relief.

"Please, keep it down will you, sis?" said Luna, very, very, very quietly.

"Huh?" whispered Lina.

"Hangover..." explained Luna, equally quietly.

"Oh..." said Lina, as she finally realised what she had been feeling in her head. A headache. And a big one...

She hated to admit it, but the "walking dead woman" had taught her a few good tricks in their brief travels together. Maybe she should upgrade her to a "walking critically injured woman"?

Nah...

"Holy hands, Remove the unholy thing,  
The thing tormenting us.

Diclery!"

There was a strong glow over the three bodies in the bed, then Lina gave a sigh of relief as the pain went away to the point where she could function normally. As for the remaining discomfort, some willowbark tea would help that...

Luna sat up. "How can I punish myself if you keep doing that?" she muttered.

"Er, you're kidding, right?" said Lina, sweatdropping...

"Well, she could always go back to that island and give herself up if she's serious..." said a groggy Gourry as he lifted his head and looked around. "And how did we all end up in the same bed?"

"We were drunk..." said Lina.

"Right, don't ask for details, got it..." said Gourry.

"Yep, that's best." said Luna

"Hey wait, there wasn't..." started Lina.

"We said no details." cut in Luna.

"Right!" replied Lina, snapping to attention at the bedside, then catching herself...

The nessessary things were done and the day was begun. Heading out, they stopped by the other room and knocked and knocked, but got no answer...

"Alas, the greatest opening she's ever given me, and I am too sore of spirit to take advantage of it. Good timing, Ayn..." said Luna with a sad smile.

Lina hugged her. Luna looked surprised then accepted it. "Okay, Lina?" she said finally.

Lina let go, smiled and said "I'm just thanking you for trying to get our lives back to a vague semblance of normal..."

"Oh, that..." Luna replied with a small, but genuine, smile.

They made their way down to the restaurant. Their brave faces demanded that they try to eat, but, they had no real stomach for it and so the hamlet was spared starvation as they had only a small meal each. Indeed, Gourry was downright scared for a bit when Lina only asked for tea and toast, but later she started swiping some of his sausages, and that was such a relief...

Luna was just forcing down the last of her porridge when a voice spoke up. "Easy there, that stuff's heavy, and I'm not up to carrying too much weight yet."

Luna looked up at Ayn, for that was the speaker and said "Well, if you fast it should make up for it..."

Ayn said "I have been."

"We have both been." said Milgasa joining her at the table. "And praying."

"Praying?" said Gourry.

"Yes, we were too upset to even think of sleep last night, so we went outside and since then we have been praying for the spirits of Zel, Sylphiel, and all others who have been, or will be, hurt by this horrible situation. We even prayed for Filia." explained Ayn.

"You weren't drunk?" Gourry asked, before Lina could shush him.

"Three boilermakers aren't enough to let us even get a buzz on, as the saying goes." explained Milgasa. "We aren't humans, remember?"

"It's you three we need to worry about in that regard." said Ayn. "So, you going to make three to a bed a regular thing now?" she asked Luna.

Luna smiled and said "Okay, you beat me to it, that's one for you..."

"Well, when I get feeling a bit better I will respond by asking you if you need a bigger bed yourself. But for now, the only come back I can manage is an unoriginal, and uninspired "That's a secret...""

Ayn nodded. "I'm sorry, Luna, we are all of us out of sorts here, when you are ready, tease away. Until you start again I will behave."

Luna nodded then suddenly she caught Ayn up into a big hug. "What would I do without you?" she asked.

Ayn nodded as she hugged back. "May I make a suggestion?" she asked. Luna nodded. Ayn went on "In the extremely unlikely event you ever do need to answer that question, may I suggest you look to Lina before you look for another dragon? You might be surprised..."

"H-hey?" said Lina.

"Yeah, they'd be a great team, too bad they don't see it yet." said Gourry, with a smile at his wife.

"Well, don't sell yourself short either, Mr. Gourry." put in Milgasa. Ayn nodded in agreement to that.

Luna pulled away. "Uh, this is all going to remain academic, right?" she asked. "I'm serious Ayn, all fighting and teasing aside, I don't want to lose you, unless it's to let you go be with the right one and start making eggs..."

Ayn laughed. "Oh, as for that, I've been doing that about every ten years, as all dragon women do. I just don't let a man make them live. But yes, I will admit that after nearly two thousand years of service to the Knight, I'm starting to think maybe I'm ready to move on and be a mommy. I have always wanted that, it's just been one of those "One day, but not yet..." things in my life. But right now the plan is to serve you all the days of your life Luna, and then make up my mind. Don't worry, we dragons are a long lived race, about nine to ten thousand years on average, so at the grand old age of three thousand, five hundred, and thirty two years, I think I have enough time to spare. Besides, I haven't made up my mind fully here, I'm just thinking about it."

Lina gulped. "Well, and I thought I was doing good waiting until I was twenty two to get started." she said with a slight giggle.

"Well, but that's how it should be, Lina." replied Ayn. "You would have been a good mother if you had started too soon, of that I'm sure, but you wouldn't be happy about it. Waiting until you are ready, in your heart I mean, will make it all so wonderful."

Lina nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I think it's the idea of having a few thousand years to spare that makes me do a double take, is all." she said.

Ayn smiled. "Well, but you don't have the potential to have hundreds of babies, so maybe that's a trade off?"

Lina gulped. "Yeah, that's be a lot..."

"Every ten years?" said Gourry, a bit puzzled.

"It must be nice to have a love life that doesn't involve worrying about a baby each time, though." said Luna.

Ayn laughed at that as Milgasa blushed.

"Huh?" said the humans.

"Well, it's not like we obsess about it, so, why would you know. I'm afraid you might not like dragon sex if you aren't a dragon. Lord Milgasa will explain." said Ayn, as she made a big deal about getting a cup of tea.

"This embarasses you, does it Lady Ayn?" said a straight, but red, faced Milgasa.

Ayn just sipped her tea...

Milgasa gave a brief rendition of what Beastmaster had told Filia the night before.

"Wow!" I never thought it could be different, for some reason." said Lina, blushing in her turn. "So, it makes sense, I suppose. But, yeah... now that I've tried it, er, the human way..."

"And so you should love it the way that is right for humans." said Ayn, joining back in. "Do what is right for your race, and we will do what is right for ours, and beyond that, what more needs to be doing."

"Hmm, was Filia laying eggs?" asked Gourry.

"Er, hummm, no, atleast I don't think so." said Lina, thoughtfully.

"Well, that'll be interesting." said Milgasa. "She's about the right age for it to start, I wonder what they will do with a needy Filia?" he added, smirking slightly.

"Probably end up killing her..." said Luna, finally getting into the conversation.

"Oh no!" said Lina. "Well, we still need to try to rescue her, I suppose..."

Luna shook her head. "I don't know if we can." she replied to her sister."I mean, I don't want to abandon her, and I want to know for sure what happened to our two friends, though I think we probably know, but unless we can counter the magic supression, it isn't safe for us to go back. We need to think about this." she said, seriously.

Lina nodded, looking sad. A tear escaped her eye again at the thought of Sylphiel and Zel lying in a broken and bloody mess on the rocks. "Atleast it was quick, and Beastmaster didn't have them for sport..." she said.

Gourry hugged her again.

There was silence. "Well, speaking of which, we better get back to Seirune and tell what happened." said Luna, sounding like that was the last thing she ever wanted to do.

The others nodded. Lina gulped and said "Amelia is not going to like this..."

"And everyday we leave her in false hope will only make it harder when we get there." said Ayn, quietly.

"You two aren't ready to fly yet." said Luna. "We walk today. Besides, the physical work will help us all with our grief. Maybe tommorrow we can fly the rest of the way."

There was a general agreement to that and so preparations were made to begin the long, painful journey back home.

On the rock face the two trapped survivors awoke in the darkness. It was too cold and too hard, and they hurt too much to sleep anymore. But they did admit they felt more alert and alive than yesterday.

It was probably the hunger and the thirst talking. And their bladders...

"By all that's holy, and I thought I was cold before I did that..." shuddered Sylphiel as Zel finished helping her."

"Speaking of cold, how's your finger?" he asked.

"Very cold and numb, totally numb. I'm afraid it's strangled somehow, Mr. Zelgadiss. This is not good. I'd love to take some of that numbness and apply it to my ankle though. It's burning, and it hurts!" she said.

Zel nodded. "We must wait for light, then I can see what I might be able to do."

Sylphiel sighed as she sat back down. "Well, I could pitch myself over if you'd help, that'd end my pain and free you up too..." she said. There was a pause then she added "That was a dark joke, but I'm too sore to laugh, sorry..."

Zel smiled. "I wondered, but, yes, I can see you feeling that way. But please don't do it, Miss Sylphiel, we might work something out yet."

They sat awhile in silence watching the last stars sink into the sea as the growing light let them know the sun was about to rise behind them.

"We were playing at trying to get Miss Lina into a position to fireball us at about this time yesterday." said Sylphiel.

"You might have been playing, but I don't think Lina was." replied Zel. "And are you sure it should be "Miss Lina" still?"

"Force of habit..." she said, with a sigh...

More silence, and the light grew. Finally, Zel staggered up and looked out at the route he thought he saw yesterday. After a long, thoughtful silence, he turned to Sylphiel and said "There is a sheer wall with minimal holds for about one hundred feet, after that there is a wider part of a ledge that seems to go on around the wall. If I do everything right, I think I can scale across the cliff face."

Sylphiel nodded. She gave Zel a brave smile. "I understand. I am happy you will get out. Such a passage would be very diffucult, but I know you will get yourself free."

Zel looked at her then gave her a smile back. "No, you don't understand, my fault for not explaining. If I go alone, it will not be that bad. No human could do it, as I said yesterday, but I feel certain that I could. I meant, I think I can make it, with you on my back. I will not leave you here if there is a chance, Sylphiel. I simply could not live with myself if I left you to die. Listen. If I leave you here you will die. If we fall, you will die. If I make it, you will live. I have a choice, and I choose to take the chance that I can get you out with me, or die trying, rather than abandon you to certain doom. I'm sorry, but there will be no argument. We make it together, or we perish together. It's my choice, and I have made it."

"But Zel, I can't ask you to..." she began

"Stop being so damned good!" interupted the chimera, a little harshly.

"Hey?" said a scared Sylphiel.

Zel sighed and covered his face with his hand for a minute."I'm sorry. I really am. This is harder on me than I want to let on..."

He paused then went on. "Look, Sylphiel, I appreciate your courage in being willing to stay behind and let me go, please don't think I don't have any appreciation for how hard it must be for you. The simple truth is that I haven't the heart to leave you here, so, we both stay or we both go. To stay is certain death, to go is a slim chance at life."

Sylphiel looked down and took a few deep breaths as if struggling inside. Finally she said "I don't want to die Zel, but if I caused you to fall, how do you think I'd feel?"

Zels answer was to the point. "Weightless for several seconds, scared out of your mind, then, nothing."

Sylphiel looked at him, confused, so he explained, saying "You'd feel that on the way down and then nothing at the bottom."

"I, I got that part..." she said quietly.

There was silence for another minute or two as the girl struggled, then she said "Okay, I see you aren't going to change your mind, and damnit, I want a chance to live. I accept, but, how do we do this?"

"That's better." said Zel with a smile. "We have to find a way to let me carry you on my back, then I have to crawl on the wall until we get across to the other ledge."

"What if that goes nowhere?" she asked.

"Then we are no worse off than now, and we have a new view." he said.

"Is it really that simple?" she asked.

"Well, this is life or death, black or white, in this case, yes it is." replied Zel as he pondered the task of moving the girl.

After a bit he said "We need something to use as rope. I can make a sort of chair for you to sit in which will let me take your weight. You will still have to hold on tight, though."

"Rope?" asked Sylphiel. "If we could get into our cloaks I have some, but, alas, as I found out earlier when I went for my spare water bottle, even the magical pouches in my cloak are sealed."

"Well, that's another reason to go now." said Zel. "We are out of water. Okay, an idea just came to me. We can cut our pant legs off and make them work as ropes."

Sylphiel did a double take. "W-Will they be strong enough?" she asked, nervously.

Zel paused then replied. "I won't lie, I just don't know. But the fabric we both chose for our pants is tough work cloth. Even your lovely white pants are strong. And it is one hundred feet, not the whole cliff face. I think it might hold. Anyway, we will start with my pants, and if we have enough we won't need yours."

"Oh?" said Zylphiel. She then coloured slighty and gave a weak giggle. The rib hurt too much for a real laugh. "I, uh wasn't worried about that. Zel, not after, you know, the nessessary stuff...'

Zel smiled as he took a knife out of his belt. "You sure you shouldn't be?" he teased. 


	16. Chapter 16

The sad wanderers walked all day, as they had planned, making it to a small city as night was falling. They just made it in before the gates were slammed shut until morning, against mauraders. It had been a long journey for the gang, there had been times when they attempted to be happy, and times when they quietly wept. Now, they were sore from their injuries, tired from their journey, hollow in their hearts, and glad enough to turn in to a local inn to seek food and rest.

That was a bit easier said than done as the place was jamb packed with people. They finally found seats at an over crowded pub and squeezed in around a table for two that was doubling as one for four. It took a while to get the attention of a harried waitress. "You look busy..." remarked Luna.

"Oh, gods above and below, it's been like this ever since the Night Walkers began to terrorise this part of the world." said the girl in exasperation. "We were quiet and peaceful here, just a local trade center for the farmers inland to meet with the fishermen from the coast and the food merchants from Seirune mostly, but I guess we got too rich or something. For the past month a band of brigands has been showing up every night to attack us. We have to give them money and food, mostly, or they lay waste to the country side, ruining farms, roads, bridges, whatever hurts us. We are getting very thin and our resources are about used up. We send messengers to the Parliment, but we never know if they arrive, no help so far. So, every night, everyone from around here piles in to the city to hide behind the walls and they go out again in the morning to see what else is destroyed. Usually we get a family a day that has to come looking for help as their farm is utterly devastated. We are just about broken..."

"Speaking of help," said Luna "I am a waitress myself, back home, could you use some help tonight? I wouldn't mind, as long as my sister and my friends get served right away..."

"You were sent by the gods!" said the girl, almost crying with gratitude. "Come, let me take you to the boss..."

"What? Hey, Luna?" said Lina, as Luna jumped up with the girl and went off.

"She needs to work off her grief." said Ayn.

"And we don't?" said Lina with a bit of a huff.

"Well, there are the Night Walkers..." suggested Milgasa.

"Hey! Good idea!" enthused Lina.

Gourry just looked bored. Then, Luna, smiling for a change, and in an improptu uniform, showed up and said "Well? What do you think? I work the rest of the shift, we get a free meal, and they will find beds for us as well!"

"Pretty slick, sis!" said Lina, with a smile.

"And if you had only brought your wanton "Lina the Pink" dress you could get to work too!" enthused Luna, as Lina face faulted into the table.

"Someone's feeling better." said Ayn, dryly.

"Yeah, kind of, actually, isn't it great?" enthused Luna, some more. "Now, what'll you have? Today's specials are roast ox, roast ox, roast ox, and roast potatoes, with roast ox gravy?"

The table stared at her. "No, I'm serious guys. And they really are on tight rations around here, so, please try to understand about the limited menu, okay?"

"Well, then," said Gourry, venturing to speak, "I'll have an order from each of the roast oxen, and the potatoes, with extra gravy, please."

"Oh, for crying out loud, Jellyfish, she was being funny..." said an exasperated Lina.

"No, actually, there are indeed three oxen on the go." said Luna, with a triumphant smirk. "And they are more than half eaten up already. Apparently they can have ox bone soup for lunch tommorrow, that's about all that'll be left.

Lina clunked her face on the table again as Ayn said "Well, let's all have what Gourry's getting, then. What's to drink?"

"All the water you want. Nothing else, sorry." said Luna, who then left to fill the orders.

""Just about broken" is right." commented Milgasa quietly.

Lina lifted her head up again. "Well, maybe we should do something about it!"

Ayn smiled. "I had that thought too!" she enthused. "Well, you know what they say about great minds thinking alike!"

"I heard more that it was fools who seldom differ..." said Milgasa, being helpful.

There was a distinct smack as Ayn bopped him.

"Better not let Luna catch ya doing that or she'll be helping you pick out your wedding gown." smirked Lina.

"Oh, not you too..." sighed Ayn.

Just then the food arrived, three moderate portions of ox meat for each person at the table, and several over done potatoes, drizzled, rather than smothered, in a thick, brown, sticky fluid that was rather salty.

"No butter?" pouted Lina.

"No chives or sour cream either." sighed Luna who was helping to serve them up. "Anyway, you are eating food that's as good as everyone else in here is getting, but the ration rules allow for one plate each, only. Sorry about that. When you are done, just go over to the front desk and tell them you are with me. The guy called Tom will set you up with your rooms. I'll be in when the shift is done."

There wasn't much joy in the meal, it was really, really basic, and hardly enough. Naturally, they ate it way too fast, no matter how slow they wanted to be. So, inevitably, the meal ended. "Well, let's go get our rooms..." muttered Lina. She remembered to leave a tip as they left. After all, Luna would know where to find her if she didn't...

The "rooms" turned out to be a "room", without a view, two double beds, and some bed rolls to use on the floor. This was going to be just great. But, technically, Luna only said they promised to find beds for them all. Apparently they were rather lucky to have them, too...

Once they had secured the room, they went out again. For awhile they just milled around, seeing what could be seen. Mostly a lot of people, several of whom seemed to jostle them accidentally, some not so accidentally. The waitress was right, this place did get packed at night. And it sprawled too...

"You'd think they'd never heard of urban planning..." muttered Ayn, dissaprovingly.

Being that it was evening a lot of the daytime places were closed. Lina was dissappointed when she found the magic shop had it's window tight shut against the night, no window shopping for her. Likewise, the blacksmith's forge was cold and locked up, so Gourry sighed when he saw he wouldn't be able to browse through any new weapons.

"Yeah, hey, let's go see what we can learn about these "Night Walkers" everyone around here is so afraid of." said Lina, as she almost unconciously applied a wrist lock to her third wanna be pickpocket of the evening. The guy howled in agony as Lina left him face down in the dust. Obviously she had been continuing to practice her unarmed, non magical, combat. Hey, but it paid to be prepared, right? Oh well, atleast he hadn't been "bitch slapped" across the street like Ayn's unlucky cutpurses had.

For some reason the men didn't get picked on by the petty thieves. However, what they did get was an awful lot of attention from scantily clad girls wanting to be their dates...

A couple of guys too...

Eventually they made their way to the main gate, now locked and barred. Men were assembling a large pile of food and drink, and some sacks of coins, onto a large cart. After asking around they discovered that this was meant to be the evening's "tribute" to the Night Walkers, who were due shortly to collect. The rules were simple, give as much as you could, and hope it was enough, otherwise, expect a ravaging...

Lately they had been having trouble collecting "enough"...

Lina and the rest made their way to the wall. With a little magic they managed to fly everyone up and secure a perch on a platform near the gate, so they could watch and see. As they waited they discussed the situation.

"They have guards, why can't they overthrow their tormenters?" asked Lina.

"Numbers, training, and weapons." replied Gourry. "If there are a large number of bandits and a small number of guards they can't win. If the country folk aren't trained they can't help. If the bandits have better weapons, maybe even magical ones, they might just be too strong."

"And I suspect that they did try to stop the attacks." added Milgasa. "This platform was obviously meant for archers in support of the main guard at the gate, but, it is empty, even though the town expects the marauders sometime soon. So, a battle, a defeat, a great loss of troops, no rouseable countryside, they gave in."

"So, what caused the defeat?" asked Ayn. "That amount of food and drink they are preparing will feed a large number of men, but not enough to defeat the kind of garrison this size of a city should be able to muster."

"Ah, superior, even magical weapons!" said Lina, sounding interested.

"Or a threat that if they didn't do as they were told and make "tribute" a larger force would be summoned." put in Gourry, considering another alternative. He added "Usually that would mean a full scale invasion so the whole country ought to be aroused to prepare for war, but, we don't know who they are up against, so it's possible."

Lina nodded. "The waitress said that they sent requests for help, but none came. That would mean it wasn't their own government at any rate. If this city had lost a rebellion or a civil war it would have been handled differently. But I suspect that the messengers aren't making it. Easiest explanation for that is magic, again."

"Well, let's just see what happens..." she added, with a determined note that Gourry knew quite well.

"Oh boy! Mayhem!" he said.

Lina shot him a look then said "Pipe down Youghurt brain, I don't wanna miss anything." Of course the smile he gave her back was enough to disarm any thoughts of enforcing that command. "Nuts! You're getting too good at that..." she muttered.

Time passed, then...

As the twilight was deepening, making it harder to see, horses could be heard on the road. A small troop of men marched in to view with a few riders leading them. They looked more military than typical bandit scum.

"Oh, a pike square." observed Gourry, noticing the formation the men were marching in, and the weapons they were holding. "These aren't typical bandits, they look like a bit of a rag tag military unit. Are they mercenaries maybe?"

"who's that in the center?" asked Lina. "The guy in the robe?"

"Probably a wizard." replied Ayn. "So, a band of mercenaries gathered around a wizard, demanding food and money in exchange for leaving people alone. Couldn't they have come up with a better name than Night Walkers?"

Any further conversation was interupted as the square halted, turned ninety degrees, and snapped to attention, obeying the commands of one of the men on horseback. The robed figure was observed to take his own time to do things, no doubt about it, he was some kind of boss. "I'd so love to jump him..." muttered Lina.

"Soon." whispered Ayn. "We don't know his power, we should probably follow them and go get them when they are a safe distance away." The group nodded. No reason to bring harm to innocents, after all...

"Is it ready?" someone in the troop asked, rather unkindly, of the city guards.

"Yes sir. Request permission to open the gates." came a reluctant reply.

"Get on with it." was the curt answer that came back. With that the city gate rumbled open and the cart was pushed out. After taking it a short distance, the city troops stopped, stood away from the wagon, and returned to the gate, which was shut again as they entered.

Immediately after the gate was shut the front rank of the square marched forward and brought the cart to the rest of their troop. One of the horsemen dismounted and gave the cart a once over. "This is pretty basic, isn't it?" he shouted to the city. The reply he received was "But we are almost out of things to give you. We really are. Soon there will be nothing left."

The man shouted back "It will not be good for you on that day then. Of course, we will take payment in slaves if you have nothing else. I think you need another lesson tonight."

The city returned with "But, but we really are drained dry. Please, why don't you believe us?"

The mouth piece was about to speak when the wizard said something too faint to be heard to the man. He turned and listened to the magic user, bowed and turned back to the city. His words were chilling. "We will accept your words for tonight. But when we return tomorrow you must offer proof of your destitute state. That proof will be one hundred young men, and one hundred young women given over to us as slaves. If they are there, and an extra large wagon with provisions, we will march away and go sell them off. You will be free of us. If you don't have them, we will devastate the country side badly. Your choice."

The threat and the demand delivered, he remounted his horse. In the meanwhile, a pair of horses had been hitched to the cart already. With a curt command the troop went forward and surrounded the cart. The wizard mounted the cart, there was a command, a whip crack, and the Night Walkers marched away.

Immediately the city was abuzz. Two hundred young adults to be given over as slaves? This was a catastrophy. In the confusion, no one noticed four figures float to the ground outside the wall. Two of them gracefully, one not graceful at all, but then she was carrying a load which did insist on cringing all the way...

"Well, you should learn how to fly for yourself then." said Lina to Gourry as they landed.

As wailing sounds started to be heard from inside the city the four companions snuck off after the evil troops. They tried to stay mostly to one side of the road, in shadow, as they went. They didn't want the fight to start too soon, too near the city, and they needed to know if the squad in front of them was all they were dealing with, or if a bigger troop was camping somewhere. It was just plain important that they get all the rats, after all...

The pikemen and the cart went on for awhile. They were so cocky that they didn't even turn around and look to see if they were being followed. They marched on for about half an hour, then into a wooded area and down a tight track, then veered off and went into a clearing where there was a a big fire. Sheesh! They weren't even trying to hide.

In the clearing, besides the big fire, was what could be called an altar which was set up in front of a raised seat. A throne of sorts, really. Around the throne were guards, enough for another square of pike men. Behind the throne, back a little distance, was a big tent of some sort and a lot of smaller tents around it. It was hard to see, but there seemed to be a smaller fire in the background too, probably a kitchen of some sort, the big fire looked like a council fire, not a cooking one.

"Is it a high holy day?" remerked Ayn quietly as she took it all in.

"A ritual of some sort, definitely." said Milgasa, in reply.

"I wonder if they do this every night?" asked Lina as she contemplated the scene.

"Well, they aren't posting any guards." said Gourry, adding his analysis to the mix.

"Better be careful then." said Lina. "They don't look like the usual stupid sort of bandits, so we may have magic wards to deal with, or maybe invisible guardians like demons."

"In that case, we may already have been marked." said Ayn, looking around to see if anyone was trying to sneak up on them. "Should we get Luna?"

Lina smirked. "And spoil her fun? Nah, Gourry and I have delt with worse on our own before."

"We have?" said a puzzled Gourry. Lina sighed...

"Okay." she finally said. "You two get comfy and Gourry and I will rush in and show you how 'tis done." Gourry, get ready to charge." Gourry got ready.

"No, no, would't hear of it." said Ayn. "You three sit back and I'll swoop down in my true form and incinerate the lot of them." Gourry sat down.

"But you need to remain ready in case Luna needs you." insisted Lina as she signalled to Gourry to get up again, which he did.

"But I'm getting out of practice." said Ayn as she shoved Gourry down again.

This went on for a few minutes until Gourry eventually collapsed. "I don't know what's going on..." he protested.

Ayn and Lina burst out in the giggles at that. "Is it like this with you and sis too?" asked Lina with a smile as she gave Gourry's blond locks a good tussle.

"Yes, only more intense." smirked the Dragon woman.

"So what's the real plan?" asked Gourry.

"We should watch and wait. We have no idea who will sit on that throne, or what his or her powers are, yet." said Milgasa, finally joining the conversation. "There may be more than one wizard."

The others nodded and settled in to wait.

The cart was soon unloaded and the horses tethered. There was busy work for a while as the night's tribute was distributed to various places it had to go. From time to time men would throw logs on the fire to keep it up. In short, it was a typical big camp, military in nature. There didn't seem to be any women, this was obviously not a family that was moving around, scrounging at sword point. So, what was going on then?

Then, there was a trumpet call and the soldier bandits trooped over to what had to be a mess area to eat.

"Opinions?" asked Ayn.

"Out of work mercenaries, living off the land until they find work?" ventured Milgasa.

"No, something's wrong here." mused Gourry. "They are staying in one place too long. Either they have a grudge against the city, or they are here on this spot for some other reason and are using the city as a supply base. But, looking at the number of men we've seen, they shouldn't have been able to defeat the city, no matter how well trained. Something else is going on..."

"Better watch awhile yet." said Lina, her keen eyes surveying the scene before them. "I'd suggest scouting the area, but something tells me whatever is going to happen will happen here, in this clearing."

The others nodded.

Someone's stomach rumbled. "Shhhh..." said everyone, to everyone else...

Eventually, the meal was over. Usually a camp would go to more relaxed discipline as the soldiers were given free time before lights out, but not here. The troops formed up, and marched to the clearing. A squad of six was set at the door of the big tent, as if to act like an honour guard of some sort. The rest formed ranks in front of the raised throne thingy. There was a short wait.

The wizard character emerged from the big tent, carrying a thick staff. He stumped along to the altar and stood in front of it. Along with him came two apprenticies, half dragging, half carrying an obviously very frightened girl they must have kidnapped from a farm, or other place, that they had attacked. She was rather unceremoniously dumped onto the altar and tied in place on her back.

Lina stood up, but Ayn placed a restraining hand on her and said "I see no knife. There is another player yet to come, we should wait a bit longer." Lina nodded, and sat down again, but was obviously in a rage. Human sacrifice was an unforgivable sin in her books.

The wizard lifted his hands and began a long invocation, punctuated from time to time by shouts from the assembled troops. As he did so the six guards at the tent went inside. When they emerged a few minutes later they had a coffin...

"Ewww... are they trying to raise the dead?" muttered Lina.

The prayer continued as the coffin approached. The "honour guard" took it behind the altar and placed it in front of the throne, then marched off to the side, looking very important.

The spell, incantation, prayer, or whatever it was, continued for a time, then there was a massive shout...

And the lid of the coffin opened!

For a minute, there was nothing, then, a pale white hand came from inside the box. It gripped the side, and...

A very pale woman sat up! It was obvious, even from a distance, that she wasn't exactly normal.

"They worship a vampire? How tacky..." said Ayn.

"Nothing a good fireball can't fix." said Lina, getting ready to chant.

"Remember the wizard." warned Milgasa.

"Shall I create a diversion?" asked Gourry, as he slid the Blast Blade a few inches from it's sheath.

"That's an idea." said Ayn. "Let's say that Lord Milgasa and I go change to our true forms, then Mr. Gourry can charge in to make a diversion. As soon as they are fixed on him, we will swoop over the trees and attack from two sides, throwing them into disarray, at which point, you start casting spells, Lina."

"He, he, I like, I like..." said Lina. She turned and looked at Gourry. Suddenly she gave him a big kiss and said "You be careful Yoghurt Brain, don't hurt yourself, that's my job..."

"Who what?" said Gourry, looking worried.

"Nah, teasing!" smirked Lina. She kissed him once more. "For luck." she smiled. She turned to Ayn and said "When ever you two are ready."

Ayn and Milgasa nodded and turned to go.

At the camp site, the Vampire goddess stood up and turned to face the altar. Slowly and eerily silent, she seemed to half walk, half float towards the altar with it's terrified victim. Gourry crouched. Lina counted the seconds to make sure that Ayn and Milgasa were ready.

Then...

Just as Lina was about to set Gourry in motion, just as the vampire reached the altar...

A voice!

"Ha ha! Unpunished evil doers! Oh the gods love us, Jack!"

Lina froze. She knew that voice, but had a bad feeling she didn't want to...

"Look!" said Gourry, pointing to another part of the clearing where a tall young woman with long black hair, a psychopathic grin, an impressive sword, dressed in a simple long yellow skirt, and with the inevitable breasts that looked too big to let her use the sword effectively, was striding rapidly towards the assembled soldier bandits.

Lina saw her, and remembered...

"No, no, no, no, no! It can't be..." she said, planting her face in the ground.

"You know her?" asked her husband.

"Yes!" said an exasperated Lina. "Argh! Of all the people to show up and ruin things..."

"Lemmy Martin!"

"Oh." said Gourry. Followed by "Who??"

Lina quickly explained. "Back in my youth I met a young girl who was a sword fanatic. She had something like 29 swords, with individual names for each weapon. I think Jack was her favourite. Well, anyway, long story short, she was on a revenge mission of some sort when I met her. I helped her and I guess justice was done, but, I never really liked her, she always weirded me out with her love of her swords. Hell, she even licks the damned things for some reason. It almost looks like a wierd erotic act the way she does it."

"Uh, strange..." said Gourry as he watched the clearing.

The soldiers had now formed a modified pike square aroud the altar and the woman who was approaching it. The vampire didn't seem to notice Lemmy.

But Lemmy noticed her...

"Unhand that victim." she shouted in command, as she dashed forward towards the altar. "I love being a justice fighter! I can slay all the bad guys I want!" she exulted.

The troops lowered their pikes to point straight at the charging woman, so, naturally, Lemmy did what all heros would do, she hopped up onto the pikes and used them as a springboard to leap dramatically over the formation and land in front of the altar in time to rescue the victim.

Atleast, that was the idea...

Her idea wasn't half bad, and in many anime adventures it was known to work perfectly, so she couldn't be blamed for trying, but in this case, the troops were well trained. The instant they saw her jump to land on their pikes they lowered them, forcing Lemmy to miss her mark and land on the ground. This caused her to fall backwards and unceremoniously land flat on her back, legs flying.

Too bad for her she was wearing that skirt...

Now the troops showed how well disciplined they were. No one said anything about the free panty shot fan service. Indeed, their only reaction was to raise their pikes back up to fighting stance.

Which made Lemmy's bouncing back up and screaming at them for being a bunch of perverts rather pointless. But, now she was mad and seemed to forget the victim as she charged the pikemen. Maybe that's what they wanted, for back on the altar the Vampire was removing her cloack and preparing to feed, ignoring the mayhem in front of her.

Lemmy was initially successfull with her attack and managed to cut several pikes short. But the troops simply stepped back and let their properly equipped brothers fill the gaps with fresh weapons. And now the troops got smart. As Lemmy attacked them they drew their pikes in so her steel sword met the steel points on their pikes. Meanwhile, those troops not actually engaging her stabbed at her with their pikes if they were close, and the ones farther away, on the word of command, dashed around and eventually encircled her.

"Aw GEEZE! Does everything have to happen?" said Lina, sounding rather riled up by the spectacle. "Okay, Gourry, rescue Lemmy, whether she wants it or not, I'll get the girl on the altar. "Ayn? Milgasa? Can you hear me?"

There were afirmative rumbles and Lina turned to find that the dragons, in dragon form no less, had crept up behind them to see what was happening. She gave an "Eep!" of surprise then sweatdropped at it and said "Right. We'll charge, you count to ten or something, then get out here and unleash hell!"

"Got it." said Milgasa quietly.

"Should we count in human or dragon?" mused Ayn.

"Well there are merits and demerits to both..." started Milgasa.

Lina looked exasperated, but Gourry's chuckle clued her in to the fact this was some sort of prebattle steady the nerves type joke.

And after the last battle, who could blame them?

She smiled, nastily, and turned to Gourry.

"GO!" 


	17. Chapter 17

It took a bit of doing, and all their pant legs, but Zel managed to get Sylphiel rigged up in a sort of a sling, and then half tied, half hung, her onto his back. Well, and she half clung as well, if one could figure out how to come up with three halves...

After a few deep breaths, on both their parts, and a few prayers, Zel reached out onto the rock face and said "This is it."

"Hey," said Sylphiel, gently. "Is today a good day to die?"

"Strangely appropriate." said Zel with a grim smile. He made his first step.

His feet found a purchase that no ordinary human foot could have, and he was able to stand out from the craig they had been sheltering in. It felt really scary, but also really free. For one thing, he was upright, not crouched over. "Ah, now this is good for a sore back, you know. Maybe you can incorporate this into a new treatment, or something." he said, teasing Sylphiel a little bit.

"I imagine this would cure a lot of things..." replied Sylphiel, in a quieter tone that suggested she wasn't anywhere near as amused as he was...

"Sorry." Zel muttered as he started to work his way across the rock face. Each step was sheer suicide waiting to happen. Toehold, by toehold, fingerhold by fingerhold, rivulets of dust and the occasional small pebble falling as they went, he inched his way slowly across the rock. Sylphiel did her best to melt into his body, but she still tended to over balance him backwards. There was no room for error, every step had to be perfect, and all the toeholds had to hold. But this was solid granite they were on, easily the strongest stone there was, so if this wouldn't hold then it must be their fated way to go...

"Good thing there's no real wind today..." he muttered.

Sylphiel nodded, gently, very, very gently, afraid to upset his balance.

"I'm sorry if I seem out of balance, my heart is in my throat..." she said.

"Hey, well, spit it out, it'll lighten the load, plus then you can be heartless, like me." teased Zel, putting on a brave face.

"I would, but the spitting might topple us." she replied, trying to tease back in her turn.

"Good point." he said, smiling.

There were a couple of spots where he had to really feel around to get a footing, and one where he literally had to hang from his fingertips and move over a pace until he could get his feet under him again. Sylphiel was brave, but couldn't help gulping in his ear over that one. "It's okay." he said. "We are over half way there, be brave just a bit longer..."

Inch, by slow inch, the distance closed. It was begining to look like they were going to make it after all...

Sylphiel kept making herself relax as much as she could. She tried to think of pleasant things, everything from calling up pleasant memories to even how nice it felt to be so close to Mr. Zelgadiss. Okay, okay, they weren't snuggling, exactly, but in this unusual condition they were in it didn't hurt that it felt nice. Besides, the next second could still be her last, did it really matter if she had just a little visceral enjoyment in her life before then?

Zel concentrated with all his mind and will on the next foothold, always the next foothold. He didn't let himself think about the farther piece of the footpath they were creeping towards, that wouldn't do, he'd be distracted. After all, until they were there, it was as good as infinity away, if they fell. So he felt his way along, sometimes finding easy places to stand, sometimes he had to feel around, and some times he had to choose the less treacherous of more than one choice.

Finally, they were a couple of yard away! One more step!

But it wasn't there...

He felt around and around, but there was no place to put his foot. He even gave a frustrated kick at the rock face. Of course his foot bounced off. He felt for a handhold, even that was not to be, the place was too smooth. "I can't find a place to grip..." he said in a worried tone. "All this way, and for want of one more hand, or foot, hold, I'm stumped."

Sylphiel whispered "C-can you jump it? It's only about, what, six or seven feet?"

"I'll have to try, no choice otherwise." he said, after a pause. "Okay. If I can get a foothold and a handhold we will make it, if not, we plunge. Prepare yourself." he said. He concentrated, gritted his teeth, and...

He pushed off with his trailing leg, sticking his leading leg towards the ledge as much as he could. He ignored the ominous crack that signaled the end of the toehold he had just pushed off of, and concentrated on keeping his body close to the rock wall. For a second, they floated, then...

One foot made it, a good foothold!

NO! DISASTER!! NO HANDHOLDS!! They began to slip out of balance!

They stopped as Zel scrabbled at the wall helplessly.

"C-can't hold this long..." rasped Sylphiel using her one good hand to cling to the rock wall. Zel was able to use the second she gave him to get his balance and then he gave a lunge, grabbed rock, and pulled...

They smacked the rock face, ouch, but they had their balance! They made it!!

As soon as he could, Zel untied Sylphiel. As soon as she was free she grabbed him into a desperate hug and cried some of her tension out as he held her tight. The sobs stopped after a bit. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so weak about this..." she said, blushing at her tears.

"The only reason I'm not crying is because as a chimera I can't." replied Zel gently, soothing her. "Anyway, you're doing it again. You were strong enough and with it enough to grab that handhold or we would have gone down. If you want an emotionally cleansing weep after all that, I think you've earned it. You don't have to put on an act for me okay?"

Sylphiel seemed to glow a bit as she smiled her gratitude at Zel.Ssuddenly she grabbed him close and gave him a kiss. On the cheek, of course. "Thanks for not leaving me over there." she said softly. Zel smiled, even blushed a bit. "Well, let's see if we can find a better place to rest, this ledge is enough to stand on, but nothing else." he said, breaking the awkwardness with a call to action.

They crept along the ledge. Sylphiel's ankel didn't let her forget it was weak, indeed, Zel had to help her stay upright. And Zel was breathing hard, the climb across the rock wall had been harder than he let on. But they still had a will to live, so they carried on.

A good eighth of a mile later they found a wider part of the path and finally could sit and rest. They had moved around to the sunny side, or it had moved to them, their going was slow, and the day didn't wait for them. It was hot, to say the least, and they had no water. Their bottles were empty, and they had long ago discovered that they couldn't reach the spare bottles they had hidden in their capes, that would have taken magic.

But they were able to sort of curl up behind their cloaks and keep the beating rays of the sun off of themselves. They were still hot, and thirsty as all get out, but at least they weren't being burned. Much. They managed a light doze...

It was later in the afternoon when they awoke and prepared to carry on. The sun was less intense now, and moved on from the noon position. "Bet we still get burned..." muttered Sylphiel as Zel helped her painfully to her feet.

"What do you mean "we", white woman?" teased Zel. His skin was not totally impervious to burning rays but it wasn't anywhere near as delicate as Sylphiel's was. Or any human's for that matter.

"Rub it in." she sighed.

"What, the suntan lotion? Believe me, if we had any, I gladly would." he replied.

Sylphiel giggled, despite her ribs. "That would be nice. And a warm sandy beach to lounge on, while sipping a tall, cold drink... What should we drink?" she asked.

Zel couldn't resist teasing. "Well, as for me, I'll drink in your beauty, and you drink anything that mellows you out enough to let you put up with me doing that."

"Well, that would have to be your beauty in return, then." she shot back, smirking. Ha, if Zel thought he was going to use his silver tongue on her!

"Now, that would be scary." said Zel with a sigh.

"Now you are doing it." said Sylphiel.

"Doing what?" he asked.

"Putting yourself down." she replied, then went on "I realise you have issues with how you look Zel, and I know that I can't do anything to make them go away. But to Princess Amelia, you are beautiful, physically, and spiritually, and I know exactly what she sees in you because I see it too. Okay, you don't like us girls finding you handsome? I can't do anything about that. But you stop doubting us, if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, we are the beholders, and what we see is beautiful. Or handsome, or whatever word you prefer. Yes, you are a chimera, yes one has to do a double take, five or six times maybe, to get used to it, but that's just the unfamiliarity. Once we get over the initial shock, you look great. I hope some day you can accept that from us females. You are so hard on yourself."

Zelgadiss was silent for a bit. "To be honest," he said softly, "I've had issues since even before I became a chimera. Especially after my parents were killed I came to feel so damned inadequate and weak about everything. That's how Rezo was able to trick me into dropping my guard and getting cursed by his spell. And I think that's what's driving me now, all this looking for the cure and everything. I just can't accept myself as I am, and I have a hard time accepting that others are okay with it. Especially if it comes from a beautiful woman such as Amelia, or youself..."

"Well there you go." smiled Sylphiel. "I can sort of understand you, I see a plain girl in the mirror, but I'm often told I'm very beautiful. But I don't see it."

"That's because part of your beauty is your humility." said Zel.

"You think I'm humble?" said Sylphiel. "Wow. I'm afraid I don't see that in me either."

Zel shrugged. "Call it meekness then?" he suggested.

Sylphiel chuckled. Quietly. Because of her ribs...

"You men, you always want to see us women as better than we are. It's very flattering, but it makes it hard to have a truely deep relationship, you know? You set us up on a pedestal, and then leave us to balance there on our own. Sooner or later we must fall. Of course, it's not just men who do it, we girls do the same to you. Look at me and my feelings for Gourry." she said.

Zel nodded as he continued to move carefully along the cliff. If only there was some water...

"I think it is human nature to see people who are important to us, friends, family, loves, as better than they are. We see them as we want them to be, or so I guess. I don't know what the answer is, except to be very forgiving of ourselves and each other." he replied.

"And yet you won't forgive yourself." she said.

Zel paused for a minute. "Yeah, there's something to that." he said, finally. "I blame myself for getting like this by my own stupidity, and for trusting Rezo too much, yet, he never told me what he was doing, and I couldn't have seen it coming. I wasn't there when my parents were murdered, it's not like I could have saved them. But I still hold myself as being guilty of it. Maybe that's why I hold people like you up so much, I want to believe there is someone better than me around."

Sylphiel nodded. "I do understand what you say, Zel. I always wonder, if I hadn't taken the Bless Blade and hidden it while playing as a child, then if I hadn't been too afraid to return it in case I got punished, well, if the sword had been around, I wonder if things would have been different and, and maybe Rezo wouldn't have..." She couldn't finish her sentence. But she didn't have to, Zel was there that night that Rezo had destroyed Sairaag, killing everyone in it, including Sylphiel's family. sylphiel had only survived because she was with Lina and the others, trying to stop him.

She looked at Zel, a picture of saddness. "I can't help it Zel, I blame myself for their deaths to this day..."

Zel nodded. He realised what Sylphiel meant about falling off of a pedestal. "I will try to never put you on a pedestal so high that you cannot safely get off of it." he said, smiling.

Unspoken was something else he realised. Sylphiel looked like she was crying, but she wasn't making tears, indeed her eyes looked dry. She was dehydrating. They needed water...

Sylphiel smiled at him. "So, how high a pedestal will you put Princess Amelia on?" she tried to tease.

Zel looked uncomfortble, and was silent for a minute before he spoke. "I don't know." he said finally.

"Oh? What's the matter?" his companion asked.

"Well, it's me. And my feelings for her." he admited. "I love her, but over the years I have come to realise it is as a sister, not as someone that I could take to wife. But, I haven't been able to find the ability to tell her, yet."

Sylphiel was puzzled. "Well, I will respect if it's none of my business, but now you've made me very curious" she said. "She's clearly in love with you, what holds you back?" she asked.

Zel looked guilty. "She's just, how shall I say it, too much of a, um, oh hell, words fail me, how typical..."

He frowned, trying to think, then went on. "Excitable comes to mind. Enthusiastic. Way too enthusiastic sometimes. I mean, jumping on trees and other high places to deliver justice speeches? It was okay when she was a young teenager, but now it's like she's seeking attention as much as she's trying to dispense her beloved justice. Or how about all the times that she would throw herself into battle without a sniff of caution? Sure she's made it, so far, but there have been several times I have believed I was about to see the last of her. And one day, I fear I will. I don't want that. And it's a lot harder to put up with than I suppose I let on."

"And she's just as enthusiastic when we aren't in a fight. I'm sure you've heard the story about the adventure with the octopus and the language curse that almost got us killed. I was in on that because I caved in and let Amelia drag me into it in a damned fool idealistic quest for her favourite food, the said octopus. And other times. Heck, you saw her drag me off after you caught the bouquet at Lina's wedding, right? That was mild."

"The worst part is, if I had her, um, drive, her personality, her, uh, spirit, I'd be right in there with her, and only the gods know, we might be married now. But I don't. I really have come to love peace, and quiet, and order, and even good tilled earth. I'd love to get cured and retire to a country estate for the rest of my life. I know I'm not old, but I've seen too much adventure for one life already. Today is just a typical case in point in some ways. But she's going to be queen if her big sister doesn't get back into line. There won't be any peace, not like what I want. A quiet home, the end of the day, watching the sun set with my wife snuggled next to me, our children on our laps, or playing around us."

"Children. That's one more thing that stands between us. I am sterile as long as I'm a chimera, and Amelia will need an heir. I have no guarantee of a cure, ever. Do we adopt? Fine for commoners, but Amelia is one of a long line of blood related people who have an interest in keeping the line going. What then? Do we appoint an heir from among her cousins? That's risky, it could start a family feud again. Or do I look away as she has one of her own? I don't want to even think about it, but I have to. I have come to realise, over time, that I don't have what it takes to be her husband, and that I don't want the job either. But how do I tell her without breaking her heart?"

He paused and sighed. "And why am I bothering you with this stupidity when what we really want is to get down safely?"

Sylphiel smiled. "I'm not bothered, Zel. You are giving me the privelage of letting me see a part of you that you rarely show. I thank you for that, I consider you a friend, and I appreciate getting to know you better. I don't know what to tell you about Amelia except that if you have to break her heart it will be better if you make it a clean break. And that you are right, if you can't feel for her what she wants you to feel, then it has to end. If I didn't hurt so much maybe I could say something profound, sorry..."

Zel gave her a smile. "And I thought I was rambling... But can I do anything to help your pain?"

"How about a rest and a big drink of water?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, well, they are definitely on order..." he replied. "But we need to go a bit farther yet. I think the ledge widens out further on. Well, no, I mean I hope it does."

"How quickly can we get down?" she asked. "And I know about the big step method..."

"At this rate we will be another day or two for sure." he replied.

"At this rate? Oh my, I don't think I can keep this pace, my ankle has been sore so long it's almost numb, and it won't last for much longer for walking. I'm so sorry Zel, much as I appreciate being rescued, maybe you should have left me. Maybe you still should."

"Nope, if I have to carry you all the way, nope." said Zel with a note of finality. "Okay, please go as long as you can and we will deal with what happens when the time comes."

Sylphiel nodded. "Yes sir!" she quipped.

It was soon evident though that she wasn't going to go much farther. Fortunately, they didn't have to. It was hidden until you got to it but there was a slight inward curl in the rock face that had been partially filled with the stuff the rockface was made of. It was tight, but there was room for them both to lie down. True, it was open to the sky, but for now it was a place to rest. No water though...

Zel helped Sylphiel sit down. He then did something she begged him to do, and took the boot off of her injured ankle. They had agreed at the start to leave it on, hoping it would be a splint and a protection to her ankle, as well as letting her walk, sort of. But now she cried out in agony as it came off, and from the tightness of it, it was clear it was close to strangling the foot. They only had to look at the poor piece of meat that used to be her little finger to realise they did not want the foot to suffer the same fate.

In the end Zel had to cut the boot to get it off. "Expensive..." he commented, looking at the good quality leather and fine workmanship that had gone into them. Sylphiel just nodded.

After a time of resting the aches and pains began to settle down. Zel resolved that in the future he was going to find a way to carry more things on his belt instead of in his cloak. Water would be nice, also basic medical supplies.

"Bet you never have to use them..." said Sylphiel softly.

They rested some more then Sylphiel finally realised she needed to do something nessessary. "I have to pee..." she said, simply.

Zel nodded as he got up, stiffly, and made ready to help her. "First time since this morning." he commented.

"I'm dehydrating fast." she replied. "I didn't realise it would be so fast."

Zel replied. "For all the water down there in the ocean, we are in a dry environment, and it is hot up here. It's rather like being in the great desert east of Elemikia. A person can dry out to death in the matter of a sunny day."

Sylphiel nodded. "I need water, and soon. If we don't get some by tommorrow, I will not make it down. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." said Zel. "We'll think of something..." he added, trying to sound hopeful, though he didn't feel like there was any.

"It's okay, maybe the green flash was for you, not me." she said as Zel helped her into position to do what she had to. She gave a little cry, everything just hurt so much.

Zel couldn't help but observe her stream as he held her and what he saw he didnt like. Too little, and so dark, it was very concentrated. This would likely be her last time if there was no water. But now the shadows of night were begining to fall, and there was no way they could go on. Even though moving at night would be less dehydrating, they needed the full light to see the far too narrow path and not mistep. so, with no other choice, he helped her back from the brink, and got her tucked into bed as best he could.

If you could call an unyeilding block of granite a bed...

Still, when you are exhausted to the point of death, you can usually sleep anywhere, and, so, eventually, they did... 


	18. Chapter 18

The Slayers, and Lemmy, walked along quickly, they could feel the rain moving in behind them as they went and it promised to be a big storm. Of course, they talked as they walked...

"Um, so Lemmy?" asked Lina. "What kind of a sword did you use at the end there against that Mazoku? I mean the other swords you used acted like, I dunno, lightning rods or something, and that one seemed to stump her."

"Hmmm? Oh that!" replied Lemmy with a nasty smile. "Well, first of all, would that poor old Jack could have been a lightning rod. They don't conduct the stroke to the ground as most people believe, they let the charge bleed off safely so that it never comes in the first place. But Jack's going to need some TLC in the polishing and resharpening department before he's going to be his old self again. But yeah, I just realized her power was mostly electricity and called up Jacks's wife, Jill."

"Huh???" blinked Lina, and some of the others...

"He, he, oh it's silly of me I know, but hey, it's just my little joke after all." Lemmy giggled. "Jack's a Katana style sword, so naturally, Jill is my boken, or wooden practice sword..."

"Ah! Wood, it doesn't conduct electricity!" interjected Ayn, as she walked along beside them, holding the unconcious child. "Of course, how very clever of you!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought..." returned Lemmy.

Lina went on "Well, yeah, now I get it too, smart move! But so you look well, I take it Justice Hunting agrees with you still?"

"Oh you betcha!" enthused Lemmy, with a wicked chuckle. "Well, I supose the better way to say it is to say that "Justice Slaying" agrees with me. Nothing like a good bloodbath of evil doers to make one happy after all!"

"How wonderfully Psychopathc of you!" said Luna, sounding enthusiastic...

"Why thanks! Yeah!" was Lemmy's heartfelt reply.

Behind her back Ayn and Lina exchanged worried looks...

Lemmy went on "So tell me, Miss Luna, what kind of sword was it that you used to kill the Mazoku thingy with back there? It looked all fancy and magical. And where is it now, I didn't see ya put it away, but it's hiding now, isn't it?"

"Oh, that old thing? Ah, it's just some relic or other..." smirked Luna. "Yeah, it has some sort of magic about it I think, one kind for sure being that it can disappear when not needed. Looks like it had mazoku cutting magic too, thankfully."

"Just a relic?" said Ayn in a flat tone...

"Well?" replied Luna.

"Um?" said Lemmy, chuckling. "Okay, I don't get it all, and I know you aren't telling me something, but hey that's your business, so okay, I won't ask. I mean it's not like you are the Knight of Ceiphied or something, right?"

She giggled, then stopped, wondering why no one else was. "Hey?" she asked...

"Well, actually..." said Luna, "I don't usually like to give myself away on a first meeting, but you are obviously on the verge of guessing anyway, so yeah, as a matter of fact, I AM the Knight of Ceiphied..."

"Oh. Well, yeah, look, none of my business, I'm sorry, I was making a bad joke there..." said Lemmy.

"Uh, Lemmy?" said Lina. When Lemmy looked at her she went on "Actually, Luna was telling you the truth that time..."

"Hey? Waddya mean by that, telling her the truth "that time..." You calling me a liar, sis?" snarled Luna.

Ayn snickered "Some truths we hold to be self evident..."

Luna might have had a "witty" reply, but it died out when the gang realised that Lemmy had stopped walking and was staring bug eyed at Luna.

"Y-you... you're... th-th-th..., her???" she said, quavering and stumbling over her words.

"Nah, just one of them, we come in sixpacks ya know!" replied Luna brightly, with an old joke.

Lemmy continued to stare. Luna went up to her. "I'm sorry, you are taking this seriously aren't you? I didn't mean to belittle you, I was just having a jest." she said, sounding more serious this time.

Lemmy's eyes suddenly filled with hearts and stars as she got a goofy grin on her face. She immediately fell to her knees, clasped her hands in front of her, and said "M-my hero..." before planting her forehead on the ground almost as if in worship.

"Oh dear..." said Luna, softly.

Lina just sighed as Gourry scratched his head, puzzled. "Am I supposed to do that?" he asked, looking at Luna.

"Oh, please don't..." said Luna with a sigh of her own. "I get a lot of this, people who think I'm super holy because of Ceiphied and fall on the ground as I walk by. The only people more numerous than that are those that think I'm some sort of a challenge and want to fight me. Stupid buggers, those..."

"Yeah, but it made mom and dad rich!" giggled Lina, remembering how Luna would only agree to fight people if they would go to the grocery store and buy so many coins worth of produce first. For those who could obviousy pay, the price was steep indeed...

Lemmy got back up to her knees "Oh Miss Luna don't misunderstand! I don't worship Ceiphied within you, I admire you, the woman, for what you are doing as the Knight! The way you go around and destroy evil so utterly! I, I, that is, I go around and kill evil too, but I know I will never be able to do it like you do, and I am just such a big fan!" She got off her knees and said "Look, I didn't mean to bother you, or annoy you, I just, I just, well, I couldn't meet you and let the moment go unacknowledged is all! I mean, a woman, the best Knight in the world and all that! Uh, wow, um, I better not say anything more..." she said, looking confused, and still in a bit of shock...

"Oh, well, uh..." was Luna's heartfelt reply...

"Hey, that's my big sister, what's not to admire!" enthused Lina, trying to be helpful.

Luna gave her a sad smile, then replied "Oh, little things like her lack of judgement in battle..."

"Yep, here comes the gloom again..." sighed Ayn as her spirits also began to sink as the euphoria of the recent battle started wearing off and memory started returning.

"Huh?" said Lemmy. "But, but, you all did marvelously in that battle." She nodded back at the smoke still rising behind them.

"Yes, but we just had our asses handed to us a couple of days ago in another battle." said Luna, looking down. "And we were damned lucky to get them back at all..." she added.

"Oh?" said Lemmy quietly. Then she said, in a rather enthusiastic tone, "Well, I'm here now, if ya want to try again, maybe I can help turn the tables this time? Who were ya fighting?"

"Oh, a minor annoyance named Greater Beast Zelas Metallium..." sighed Lina.

Lemmy cringed backwards. "Yeeps! You guys pick on some really annoying annoyances don't ya? Well, okay, I'm still in and I'll do my best..."

Luna looked at her, which Lemmy found a bit disconcerting as she couldn't see through Luna's brunnette bangs to her eyes, but somehow had the feeling that Luna was looking right through her. "Yes, I do believe you would..." Luna said after a while.

She went on, explaining a bit to Lemmy as they resumed walking "Okay, part of the problem was that we unexpectedly lost the ability of our magic users to use any magic. More sword swingers might have helped. You can come if you want, but we are going back to Seirune right now to make a report, to figure out how to deal with the loss of magic, and, well, you better know, we lost two friends who were with us on the last mission." Luna looked down again, and this time, not just in the sense of the physical direction.

"I'm so sorry..." said Lemmy tenderly.

Lina shook her head, this was a side of the woman she hadn't seen before.

"I promise you, Luna Inverse, that I will do my best to try and replace your fallen commrades as best I can." said Lemmy in a quiet and solemn way.

"We shall see..." said Luna, giving Lemmy a smile.

Gourry went over to Lemmy and said her "You have quite the collection of arms there. How did you come by all of them? I can tell they are quality stuff!" he concluded admiringly.

"Ya! That they are!" said Lemmy, sounding a bit more normal. She cheerfully launched into a detailed description of her twenty nine different swords and knives that she always carried with her, hung from various parts of her garments. Well, thirty if you counted Jill. Gourry nodded approvingly, and even admired some of her weapons to the point of praise.

Lina smiled to herself as she listened. Gourry had finally found someone to talk shop with. Then she sighed. If only she dared settle down in Zephilia. Daddy and Gourry would be in their glory, and even Luna seemed to like Gourry okay, alas that they had such a rift between the two sisters.

"You okay sis?" asked Luna, hearing her sigh.

"Oh!" said Lina a bit startled. "N-no,no, just feeling down about what's happened." she replied.

Luna nodded, and said nothing.

By sheer dint of steady striding they managed to keep ahead of the rain, and arrived back at the city in time to avoid the rain. Just.

There was a crowd of people looking over the wall in blank amazement at the smoke and fire still rising from the battle ground, and the thunder and lightning from the storm. It took a few knocks before someone opened the small night door and after making sure they were safe, let them in.

The first thing Ayn did was hold up the child in her arms and call out "Does this poor child belong to someone here?" There was a sudden scream as a distraught young woman and a scared man came forward and claimed her as their child, stolen from them by force the night before by the bandits. They were overjoyed to get their little Ai (for that was the child's name) back. By now the spell that the evil wizard had put on the child was wearing off, letting her wake up, and there was much crying as the family was reunited.

"Yes, yes, you are welcome." said Ayn as she gently refused any offer of a reward from the man.

"Hey!" someone in the crowd shouted to them. "Does this mean that you came from there? Did you see what's happening?" he asked, pointing over to the column of smoke.

Luna looked up. "Yeah," she shouted back. "We barely escaped actually. Someone sic'd a couple of dragons and a, well, lets say "reasonably competent" mage, with the back up of a few swordsmen, er people, swordspeople, on a large bunch of pikemen who had a wizard and a monster of some sort, and as near as I could tell, they kicked the crap outa the pikers."

While Lina cringed at that there was dead silence for the space of a minute, a dramatic clap of thunder, then an immense cheer of joy and relief exploded from every person there. Tears of relief threatened to flood the town. If the streets weren't so packed there'd have been dancing.

Eventually the self appointed wiser heads of the city council restored some order, enough to allow the mayor to approach the small group and ask "Your report is all well and good, but, have you proof that it is true?"

There was a brief silence as the crowd strained for an answer, then a woman's voice rang out "Mr. Mayor! You may trust me on this! If the beautiful sorcery genius, Lina Inverse, or one of her companions, tells you a thing is so, you may believe her!"

The mayor and everyone else looked around, startled. Suddenly the crowd parted and a small blonde woman, a big man who looked like a blacksmith, and three wide eyed children, came into view. They approached the gang and the woman said "They are just being modest, these are doubtlessly the ones who liberated us!"

The crowd parted a bit more so that the famly could come down. "Uh well, if you are sure..." said a councillor.

"Well, it is good of you to vouch for them, Michelle, but, are, are you sure?" asked the mayor.

"Michelle? Oh by all the gods, Michelle the Witch! It IS you! You are looking well!" exclaimed a happy Lina as she gave the blonde woman a hug.

Michelle responded with a creepy laugh that caused most of the onlookers to back off even more. "Oh. I'm sorry, everyone! I forgot. I was so happy, sorry..."

She turned and smiled. "Lina Inverse. Well, well. You are looking well too." she said.

"So, it really is Lina Inverse?" someone said. "Yeah! It is!" said another voice. "Right," said a third. "It's the rhyme! It's just like the rhyme!" "The rhyme?" asked someone else. "Yeah," said the third voice again "you know "Little girl, fla..."" There was a flash of lightning, and a "Boom" of thunder.

Rowena gave what could best be described as an "eldrich" scream, which is a peculiar kind of scream known only to witches, or to a select group of actresses who portray them in Scottish plays. The effect was immediate, the crowd cringed in fright and went silent.

"Please people, let's not jump out of the frying pan of the bandits and into the fire of a Dragon Slave..." said the witch.

"Oh, yeah, forgot about that part, sorry..." muttered voice number three.

Lina was standing beside Michelle during this, glowering dangerously.

"Well, it's only 'cause you won't show off that you are now into a "C" cup...' said Luna. Then, just as Lina looked at her in surprise, she added "Barely..."

Lina cringed...

Gourry put his arm around his wife and smiled "Works for me..." at his sister in law, which caused Ayn to give a boistrous guffaw to Luna.

"Oooo, and this is your husband?" asked Michelle, with a smile.

Lina smiled back."Yup! We're Mr. and Mrs. Gourry Gabrieve!" she said to Michelle. "And can I assume this is your husband and these are your children?" she added, indicating the the people who came in with the witch girl.

The witch smiled and said "Oh right! Introduction time!" She gathered the kids together and said "Well,this is Ned, he's my husband. He's a swordsmith by trade."

"He is?" interupted Lemmy."Ha, I've got some business for him!"

"Well, tommorrow perhaps?" said michelle, as she turned to her obvious oldest, a tall, lanky girl who looked a lot like her father, but with the promise of filling out beautifully, like her mother, when the time came. "This is my eldest, Maude. And then there's Rod, my oldest boy, and here's little baby Todd." she said. She smiled at the group. "I'm not Lina, but I've done some impressive magic at times, but for all that, these three are my greatest and most magical! And I didn't even have to use witchcraft!"

"But you did..." smirked her husband quietly.

"Oh! You!" she said, giving him a giggle.

"What does daddy mean?", asked Maude.

Michelle blushed and replied "Tell you later..."

Lina giggled. "Yep, I'd say you are right, Michelle, it can't get more magical than that..."

"Oh! You too?" said Rowena with a smile.

"Not yet, but I'm working on it, when I can..." Lina replied.

"How long have you been married?" Rowena asked.

"Let me think, it seems like forever ago, with all we've been through..." said Lina. "Let's see, Prince Phil married us the night before we flew down, that's one, we stayed overnight then did our thing the next day, that's two, we came back and spent the night in the village, that's three, and we came here today, so four days ago... Gee, it seemed longer somehow."

"We've been busy." said Ayn.

Suddenly, a strong gust of cold wind blew over everyone. "Here comes the rain!" someone shouted and everyone dispersed to find shelter as large drops began to fall with a vengance.

Lina and her group ran back to the hotel they were staying at. Michelle and her family, plus the mayor and some of the city council came as well. And many of the city folk were there also, to listen, if nothing else...

Soon they were seated around a table, larger than before, and hot tea was being served, complements of the owner. The waitress who had first served them seemed to somehow have drawn the honours of doing it again, but being that she only had the one table to serve, it didn't seem too hard on her to do overtime. Besides, she got to hear everything...

"So, Lina, what brings you here to our city in our time of need?" asked Michelle.

"Fate, pure and simple." replied Lina.

"Well, I can see that, okay." the blonde girl replied. "And who did you bring with you? Aside from, um, Gourry was it? We didn't have any introductions, he, he, he."

Lina sighed, Michelle was still doing the creepy laugh thing. Poor girl, it was probably ingrained in her...

"Well," Lina began, making the introductions, "Yep, it's Gourry, and this is Luna, she's my sister. Over here is Ayn, who is Luna's friend, and Milgasa who is a, er, friend of Ayn, and also someone I know from another adventure. And the lady with the swords is Lemmy, a famous Justice, uh, Slayer, who I helped out once, about the time I helped you, if I remember."

"Oh..." said Michelle, looking at Ayn and Milgasa. "Um, you have nice avatars..."she said, trying to be complementary.

"Of course we do!" smiled Ayn smuggly.

"She's polite if nothing else..." teased Luna.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" said Ayn with a hard look at Luna.

"Well come on, she easily guessed what you two are, it's not like you are fooling anyone, she's being nice to you." replied Luna, sounding a bit defiant.

"What you are?" asked the mayor, looking , and sounding, uncertain.

"Uh, no, no, my powers let me sense it, that's all..."said Michelle a bit nervously. "Just like I know you are a person of power too, Miss Luna, though I don't know what."

"So there!" smirked Ayn triumphantly at Luna, then she turned to the mayor and said "For the record, Lord Milgasa and I are high dragons in avatar form."

"Oh..." said the mayor and several of the on lookers, clearly quite impressed. One of them turned to Luna and asked "And what are you?"

Luna grinned triumphantly and boasted "I'm a part time waitress!"

There was a puzzled silence, but the waitress that was serving them said "And a good one too." with a smile.

Luna smiled back "Hey, you're pretty good yourself. You ever make Zephilia City you can work for my place any time."

"Thanks!" said the girl with an appreciative smile.

"Uh?" said the mayor, even more confused.

"Well, Lina is a powerful mage." explained Michelle, also looking confused. "Naturally, she's have powerful people with her. I guess her sister is a powerful waitress and that's what I picked up on."

"Finally, someone who gets it right." said Luna.

"Huh. Okay, got it..." said Michelle, cluing in that whatever Luna was wasn't for public knowlege. "And you are a swordswoman?" she asked Lemmy, changing the subject.

"Yup." said Lemmy, helpfully.

Rowena blinked, not quite sure where to go.

Lina helped her out. "Lemmy is a Justice, uh, Slayer, she goes around looking for evil to undo. We met her at the site with the pikemen actually, she wasn't one of our companions earlier. But she was helpful in the battle, it was good for us she was there."

"Naturally!" enthused Lemmy. Then she giggled. "So, Lina helped you out too did she?" she said to Michelle. "How'd she do that, you don't seem like you'd be the sort to need another magician's help?"

Rowena laughed, pleasantly this time. "Well, as for that, it wasn't magic, it was helping me with my social life. See, I was a young girl when my dad died and I was raised by my mom, who was a witch and taught me her whole art. But to do that she moved me out to the country and raised me in isolation so I could concentrate. I suspect she intended to move me back and socialise me, but she died too, and I was left alone, unsure of myself, and really, really shy. I had the habit of wearing my robes all the time, hood up, and I had picked up on the creepy laugh she always used, so I did it too. The problem was that when I went to town for help, or supplies, people got weirded out by me and thought I was a scary monster. They hired Lina to go get me, and she did, by talking to me, then taking me to town and explaining what was up. Oh, and she had me drop the hood so people could see I was just a young woman, and then after that things were better. I still had some rough moments, but it was just all growing up stuff. Eventually I fell in love, got married, then had a baby. We moved because we wanted more work, and we ended up here. It's been great, lots of work, more babies, and a great life. Then the bandits came, and I wasn't strong enough for them, so I ended up trapped in here like everyone else. Now, we are liberated, thanks to all of you. And what's your story, may I ask, Miss Lemmy?"

"Ah! Well, basically, my parents were killed by an evil man and I went out on a one woman crusade to revenge them, especially my father. I did what ever I had to to become a great swordswoman, and I aquired quite a number of swords and knives along the way, as you can see. At first I started out by killing anything or anyone that got in my way, and loving it, I might add, but then I met a young girl who explained to me about the importance of only killing the unjust in the world, and that I could slay all the unjust people I wanted. Naturally, this suited me well, so I agreed to do it." replied Lemmy with an evil grin...

"Now who does that remind me of?" said a puzzled Lina...

Lemmy went on "We even had an adventure together as some evil jerk tried to kill us, then when we got the better of him tried to shift the blame to the local drug lord. Needless to say, justice was served. Then I went on having adventures and was hot on the trail of my dad's killer when I ran into Lina here, and her big boobed pet bimbo. Hey, where is she by the way, Lina?" she asked.

"Sheesh! Watch how you say that will you Lemmy?" said Lina. "We were magic partners and nothing more, don't go giving me even more of a reputation than I already have for crying out loud. Anyway, she got way too obnoxious and we parted company many years ago."

"Ah. Okay, sorry..." said Lemmy with a sweat drop. "No offence meant. Well to finish my story, Lina helped me revenge my father, then we parted company, and I've been going around doing in the unjust since then, and having immense fun in the process!"

"Uh..." said Michelle, giving voice to what a lot of the people there were thinking...

Then Ayn asked "And did your friend who put you on to justice slaying remember to mention that little thing about being presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of competent jurisdiction?"

"What?" asked a puzzled Lemmy.

"Did the girl give you a name?" asked Lina.

"Just her first name, Amelia." replied Lemmy, still puzzled.

There was a loud bang as Lina's face thumped into the table.

"Sis?" asked Luna.

"I know of only one Amelia who would say such a thing..." replied Lina, "and she would likely assume the fair trial thing was taken as read..."

"Ah..." replied Luna.

"Do you know the Amelia I met?" said Lemmy, puzzled.

"I have a guess." replied Lina. "Look, you come back with us to Seirune, and I'll introduce you to my Amelia and you can decide if it's the same girl from there."

"Oh, okay." was Lemmy's reply.

"So, what's your plan then Lina?" asked Michelle.

"Well, if we ever get to bed, we sleep, and when the storm passes, we better fly off to Seirune and get our affairs in order again." the redhead answered sadly.

"I sense sorrow." said Rowena.

"We lost a big fight and two friends a few days ago, trying to rescue another friend from Beastmaster Zelas Metallium." she answered.

"Oh my!" more than one person gasped.

"Oh, I am so sorry for you!" exclaimed Michelle.

"And yet you won against the bandits?" asked the mayor, sensing an opening.

"Yes, we did." said Luna, sounding slightly annoyed at the implication. "But they were only a few fighters, a wizard, and strange mazoku/vampire cross of a monster. Not quite the same as a Mazoku high lord, I'm afraid."

"Ah, so, what's the story with the fight out there?" he asked, looking for details.

Ayn replied "Well, we saw the bandits taking the food cart and decided to follow them. We found their camp, realised they were about to perform a sacrifice on that poor girl child I brought back, and made plans to attack. Suddenly Miss Lemmy here appeared and attacked them by herself. she was doing a good job, but we realised she wasn't going to be fast enough to save the child, so we lent a hand. We dragons flew in and blasted who we could, and Lina and the rest got the others. Not much of a story to tell if you want long battles, I'm afraid."

"B-but didn't you leave later, Miss Luna?" asked her waitress friend as she refreshed the tea water.

"Yup, I got there too late, though I couldn't have done much anyway. Lina had things about all wrapped up, by the time I got there." replied Luna with a smile.

"So you have power too?" the girl insisted.

"Nah, I'm more a swordswoman. got that from Daddy." she said. "I got one stroke in on the monster to help save the child, then the end came. Missed all the fun, darn it." she added with a smirk.

Michelle gave her a look, but said nothing. The mayor caught the look, cocked an eye, but also let the matter be. Hey, he wasn't mayor for nothing...

"So, that's how it is, then." said the mayor.

"Wow..." said someone in the crowd.

"So, Lina, how did it go with Beastmaster?" asked Michelle.

"Well, it was a bust, really. After realising she was blocking our magic we weren't able to do too much. So, we lost, almost. Fortunatly I had one trick up my sleeve and it worked, but not before she Dragon Slaved us and caused two of our friends to die..." replied Lina, obvious sorrow in her voice.

Michelle looked puzzled. "I thought mazoku couldn't use other power than their own?" she asked.

"They can't, according to something HellMaster told me, it would be fatal if they admitted they were weak and needed someone elses help." Lina replied.

There was a pause as Michelle stared at her.

Lina twigged. "Oh gods above and below! Between the fight and the grief I never clued in. How the hell did she use the Dragon Slave and not die? That spell comes from Ruby Eyed Shabradnigdo!" she gasped in shock.

"You said she blocked your magic Lina?" asked Michelle.

Lina nodded. "It wasn't like she locked it away, we just couldn't use it. Except for my little trick, which I didn't remember in time to save my friends. No other type of magic would work."

"Was there life on the island?" asked Rowena.

"Yep, lots of it." said Lina.

"Witchcraft is based on the power of life, not like shamanism which is based on spirit magic. Tell me what you need and I'll see if I can help you somehow." said Rowena.

Lina smiled. "So it is, I forgot about that. Yes, there is life on the island, witchcraft might work. But it isn't as strong as shamanistic power, and I don't want to risk taking you to where she can hurt you." she said to the blonde girl.

Michelle nodded and smiled. "I know that, and I don't think I'd come for just that reason. But I might be able to lock some spells into some potions or philters if that would help you." she offered.

Lina nodded thoughtfully. "I will need to think on it, but I'll get back to you, okay? And thanks, this will be helpful."

Michelle smiled.

"What's the charge?" asked Luna, unexpectedly.

"Oh, er..." said Michelle, looking uneasy.

"He, he, tell you what, the city can thank us by picking up the tab!" giggled Luna.

"Hey? Just a miute Luna! I was going to get around to the reward." said Lina, looking upset.

"I know," said Luna, "that's why I forstalled you. These people are really poor after the bandits, and we shouldn't take from them."

Lina gulped a few times, then sighed and gave in. Luna was Luna after all...

The mayor rumbled into life and said "Well, Miss Luna, that is so very understanding of you and I commend you for your helpfulness in this matter..."

That was as far as he got before Luna reached out and grabbed his collar, pulling him close so she could stare at his face with a nasty smirk. If only he could see her eyes...

"You on the other hand, your Honour, are the kind of man who would have a stash somewhere that managed to remain untouched by the tribute. And I suspect the same of your councilors too. You were all planning to use it to help your people weren't you? I'd so hate to have to waste my time by coming back and having to discuss the matter with you." she said.

"W-what do you mean? Who are you?" the Mayor huffed as he extracted himself from Luna's unexpectedly strong grip.

"W-what's going on, Luna?' asked a confused Lina.

"Meh. My cover's about to be blown, I'm just making the best of it." said Luna, nodding at a man who was approaching the table, a fearful look on his face.

Lina looked at the guy, a big, brawny, a fighter of some sort for sure. He had some sort of armour on, bearing what was likely the city crest. A guard then. He reminded Lina of the "Great Volun" in some ways, though it wasn't him. She smirked knowingly, Luna must have kicked this guy's ass at some point, and now he was coming to grovel...

"M-Miss Luna? Luna Inverse?" he asked, as he came to the table.

"Ah, Captain!" said the mayor, as if on cue. "You know this woman? Please, impress on her that she not to grab me and make useless accusations, or idle threats!"

"Captain, huh? You're doing well for yourself..." snickered Luna.

"P-please Miss Luna, I just wanted to thank you for saving us. We guards really did try, but we just couldn't overcome the strength of their monster. She killed many of us." he said. Then he bowed before her.

"What?" said the mayor, sounding confused and annoyed. "Who is this woman?"

The Captain looked confused. "Don't you recognise the Knight of Ceiphied, your Honour?" he asked. The room became silent at that...

"See?" said Luna to Lina.

"You are...?" said the mayor, finally.

Luna nodded.

"Well, I promise you that I and my councilors will do whatever we can, including dipping into our own resources..." he said with a gulp.

"I sure hope so..." said Luna. "Oh, by the way, you are welcome, Captain." she added with a smile.

"Right, I believe our business is done, so, if you will all excuse us..." said the mayor, as he signaled to his councilors to follow him.

"Nighty night..." smirked Ayn.

After they left Michelle said "We better go too, kids need putting to bed and that." she said indicating her youngest who was asleep on her lap.

"Okay, and I will keep in touch now I know where you are." said Lina as she stood up and said her goodbyes to Michelle.

Soon, they were alone, except for the admiring crowd.

"Bed time?" asked Gourry, finally joining the conversation.

"Oh, as if you weren't napping..." muttered Lina.

The gang retired to their "barracks" and spread out the bedding, making room as best they could. There was no privacy, but it was only for one night. The addition of Lemmy made things a bit tighter, though Lina did alleviate some of the pressure on the beds by insisting on sleeping on the floor with Gourry. "You sure, Lina?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." she said cuddling in. "Gods, I wish we were alone..." she added.

"Oh? And why would that be?" teased Luna.

"Because you snore." cut in Ayn.

"Well, really!" Luna huffed back.

Eventually they all settled, and went off to an uneasy sleep, with the rain beating against their window. 


	19. Chapter 21

The Slayers, and Lemmy, walked along quickly, they could feel the rain moving in behind them as they went and it promised to be a big storm. Of course, they talked as they walked...

"Um, so Lemmy?" asked Lina. "What kind of a sword did you use at the end there against that Mazoku? I mean the other swords you used acted like, I dunno, lightning rods or something, and that one seemed to stump her."

"Hmmm? Oh that!" replied Lemmy with a nasty smile. "Well, first of all, would that poor old Jack could have been a lightning rod. They don't conduct the stroke to the ground as most people believe, they let the charge bleed off safely so that it never comes in the first place. But Jack's going to need some TLC in the polishing and resharpening department before he's going to be his old self again. But yeah, I just realized her power was mostly electricity and called up Jacks's wife, Jill."

"Huh???" blinked Lina, and some of the others...

"He, he, oh it's silly of me I know, but hey, it's just my little joke after all." Lemmy giggled. "Jack's a Katana style sword, so naturally, Jill is my boken, or wooden practice sword..."

"Ah! Wood, it doesn't conduct electricity!" interjected Ayn, as she walked along beside them, holding the unconcious child. "Of course, how very clever of you!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought..." returned Lemmy.

Lina went on "Well, yeah, now I get it too, smart move! But so you look well, I take it Justice Hunting agrees with you still?"

"Oh you betcha!" enthused Lemmy, with a wicked chuckle. "Well, I supose the better way to say it is to say that "Justice Slaying" agrees with me. Nothing like a good bloodbath of evil doers to make one happy after all!"

"How wonderfully Psychopathc of you!" said Luna, sounding enthusiastic...

"Why thanks! Yeah!" was Lemmy's heartfelt reply.

Behind her back Ayn and Lina exchanged worried looks...

Lemmy went on "So tell me, Miss Luna, what kind of sword was it that you used to kill the Mazoku thingy with back there? It looked all fancy and magical. And where is it now, I didn't see ya put it away, but it's hiding now, isn't it?"

"Oh, that old thing? Ah, it's just some relic or other..." smirked Luna. "Yeah, it has some sort of magic about it I think, one kind for sure being that it can disappear when not needed. Looks like it had mazoku cutting magic too, thankfully."

"Just a relic?" said Ayn in a flat tone...

"Well?" replied Luna.

"Um?" said Lemmy, chuckling. "Okay, I don't get it all, and I know you aren't telling me something, but hey that's your business, so okay, I won't ask. I mean it's not like you are the Knight of Ceiphied or something, right?"

She giggled, then stopped, wondering why no one else was. "Hey?" she asked...

"Well, actually..." said Luna, "I don't usually like to give myself away on a first meeting, but you are obviously on the verge of guessing anyway, so yeah, as a matter of fact, I AM the Knight of Ceiphied..."

"Oh. Well, yeah, look, none of my business, I'm sorry, I was making a bad joke there..." said Lemmy.

"Uh, Lemmy?" said Lina. When Lemmy looked at her she went on "Actually, Luna was telling you the truth that time..."

"Hey? Waddya mean by that, telling her the truth "that time..." You calling me a liar, sis?" snarled Luna.

Ayn snickered "Some truths we hold to be self evident..."

Luna might have had a "witty" reply, but it died out when the gang realised that Lemmy had stopped walking and was staring bug eyed at Luna.

"Y-you... you're... th-th-th..., her???" she said, quavering and stumbling over her words.

"Nah, just one of them, we come in sixpacks ya know!" replied Luna brightly, with an old joke.

Lemmy continued to stare. Luna went up to her. "I'm sorry, you are taking this seriously aren't you? I didn't mean to belittle you, I was just having a jest." she said, sounding more serious this time.

Lemmy's eyes suddenly filled with hearts and stars as she got a goofy grin on her face. She immediately fell to her knees, clasped her hands in front of her, and said "M-my hero..." before planting her forehead on the ground almost as if in worship.

"Oh dear..." said Luna, softly.

Lina just sighed as Gourry scratched his head, puzzled. "Am I supposed to do that?" he asked, looking at Luna.

"Oh, please don't..." said Luna with a sigh of her own. "I get a lot of this, people who think I'm super holy because of Ceiphied and fall on the ground as I walk by. The only people more numerous than that are those that think I'm some sort of a challenge and want to fight me. Stupid buggers, those..."

"Yeah, but it made mom and dad rich!" giggled Lina, remembering how Luna would only agree to fight people if they would go to the grocery store and buy so many coins worth of produce first. For those who could obviousy pay, the price was steep indeed...

Lemmy got back up to her knees "Oh Miss Luna don't misunderstand! I don't worship Ceiphied within you, I admire you, the woman, for what you are doing as the Knight! The way you go around and destroy evil so utterly! I, I, that is, I go around and kill evil too, but I know I will never be able to do it like you do, and I am just such a big fan!" She got off her knees and said "Look, I didn't mean to bother you, or annoy you, I just, I just, well, I couldn't meet you and let the moment go unacknowledged is all! I mean, a woman, the best Knight in the world and all that! Uh, wow, um, I better not say anything more..." she said, looking confused, and still in a bit of shock...

"Oh, well, uh..." was Luna's heartfelt reply...

"Hey, that's my big sister, what's not to admire!" enthused Lina, trying to be helpful.

Luna gave her a sad smile, then replied "Oh, little things like her lack of judgement in battle..."

"Yep, here comes the gloom again..." sighed Ayn as her spirits also began to sink as the euphoria of the recent battle started wearing off and memory started returning.

"Huh?" said Lemmy. "But, but, you all did marvelously in that battle." She nodded back at the smoke still rising behind them.

"Yes, but we just had our asses handed to us a couple of days ago in another battle." said Luna, looking down. "And we were damned lucky to get them back at all..." she added.

"Oh?" said Lemmy quietly. Then she said, in a rather enthusiastic tone, "Well, I'm here now, if ya want to try again, maybe I can help turn the tables this time? Who were ya fighting?"

"Oh, a minor annoyance named Greater Beast Zelas Metallium..." sighed Lina.

Lemmy cringed backwards. "Yeeps! You guys pick on some really annoying annoyances don't ya? Well, okay, I'm still in and I'll do my best..."

Luna looked at her, which Lemmy found a bit disconcerting as she couldn't see through Luna's brunnette bangs to her eyes, but somehow had the feeling that Luna was looking right through her. "Yes, I do believe you would..." Luna said after a while.

She went on, explaining a bit to Lemmy as they resumed walking "Okay, part of the problem was that we unexpectedly lost the ability of our magic users to use any magic. More sword swingers might have helped. You can come if you want, but we are going back to Seirune right now to make a report, to figure out how to deal with the loss of magic, and, well, you better know, we lost two friends who were with us on the last mission." Luna looked down again, and this time, not just in the sense of the physical direction.

"I'm so sorry..." said Lemmy tenderly.

Lina shook her head, this was a side of the woman she hadn't seen before.

"I promise you, Luna Inverse, that I will do my best to try and replace your fallen commrades as best I can." said Lemmy in a quiet and solemn way.

"We shall see..." said Luna, giving Lemmy a smile.

Gourry went over to Lemmy and said her "You have quite the collection of arms there. How did you come by all of them? I can tell they are quality stuff!" he concluded admiringly.

"Ya! That they are!" said Lemmy, sounding a bit more normal. She cheerfully launched into a detailed description of her twenty nine different swords and knives that she always carried with her, hung from various parts of her garments. Well, thirty if you counted Jill. Gourry nodded approvingly, and even admired some of her weapons to the point of praise.

Lina smiled to herself as she listened. Gourry had finally found someone to talk shop with. Then she sighed. If only she dared settle down in Zephilia. Daddy and Gourry would be in their glory, and even Luna seemed to like Gourry okay, alas that they had such a rift between the two sisters.

"You okay sis?" asked Luna, hearing her sigh.

"Oh!" said Lina a bit startled. "N-no,no, just feeling down about what's happened." she replied.

Luna nodded, and said nothing.

By sheer dint of steady striding they managed to keep ahead of the rain, and arrived back at the city in time to avoid the rain. Just.

There was a crowd of people looking over the wall in blank amazement at the smoke and fire still rising from the battle ground, and the thunder and lightning from the storm. It took a few knocks before someone opened the small night door and after making sure they were safe, let them in.

The first thing Ayn did was hold up the child in her arms and call out "Does this poor child belong to someone here?" There was a sudden scream as a distraught young woman and a scared man came forward and claimed her as their child, stolen from them by force the night before by the bandits. They were overjoyed to get their little Ai (for that was the child's name) back. By now the spell that the evil wizard had put on the child was wearing off, letting her wake up, and there was much crying as the family was reunited.

"Yes, yes, you are welcome." said Ayn as she gently refused any offer of a reward from the man.

"Hey!" someone in the crowd shouted to them. "Does this mean that you came from there? Did you see what's happening?" he asked, pointing over to the column of smoke.

Luna looked up. "Yeah," she shouted back. "We barely escaped actually. Someone sic'd a couple of dragons and a, well, lets say "reasonably competent" mage, with the back up of a few swordsmen, er people, swordspeople, on a large bunch of pikemen who had a wizard and a monster of some sort, and as near as I could tell, they kicked the crap outa the pikers."

While Lina cringed at that there was dead silence for the space of a minute, a dramatic clap of thunder, then an immense cheer of joy and relief exploded from every person there. Tears of relief threatened to flood the town. If the streets weren't so packed there'd have been dancing.

Eventually the self appointed wiser heads of the city council restored some order, enough to allow the mayor to approach the small group and ask "Your report is all well and good, but, have you proof that it is true?"

There was a brief silence as the crowd strained for an answer, then a woman's voice rang out "Mr. Mayor! You may trust me on this! If the beautiful sorcery genius, Lina Inverse, or one of her companions, tells you a thing is so, you may believe her!"

The mayor and everyone else looked around, startled. Suddenly the crowd parted and a small blonde woman, a big man who looked like a blacksmith, and three wide eyed children, came into view. They approached the gang and the woman said "They are just being modest, these are doubtlessly the ones who liberated us!"

The crowd parted a bit more so that the famly could come down. "Uh well, if you are sure..." said a councillor.

"Well, it is good of you to vouch for them, Michelle, but, are, are you sure?" asked the mayor.

"Michelle? Oh by all the gods, Michelle the Witch! It IS you! You are looking well!" exclaimed a happy Lina as she gave the blonde woman a hug.

Michelle responded with a creepy laugh that caused most of the onlookers to back off even more. "Oh. I'm sorry, everyone! I forgot. I was so happy, sorry..."

She turned and smiled. "Lina Inverse. Well, well. You are looking well too." she said.

"So, it really is Lina Inverse?" someone said. "Yeah! It is!" said another voice. "Right," said a third. "It's the rhyme! It's just like the rhyme!" "The rhyme?" asked someone else. "Yeah," said the third voice again "you know "Little girl, fla..."" There was a flash of lightning, and a "Boom" of thunder.

Rowena gave what could best be described as an "eldrich" scream, which is a peculiar kind of scream known only to witches, or to a select group of actresses who portray them in Scottish plays. The effect was immediate, the crowd cringed in fright and went silent.

"Please people, let's not jump out of the frying pan of the bandits and into the fire of a Dragon Slave..." said the witch.

"Oh, yeah, forgot about that part, sorry..." muttered voice number three.

Lina was standing beside Michelle during this, glowering dangerously.

"Well, it's only 'cause you won't show off that you are now into a "C" cup...' said Luna. Then, just as Lina looked at her in surprise, she added "Barely..."

Lina cringed...

Gourry put his arm around his wife and smiled "Works for me..." at his sister in law, which caused Ayn to give a boistrous guffaw to Luna.

"Oooo, and this is your husband?" asked Michelle, with a smile.

Lina smiled back."Yup! We're Mr. and Mrs. Gourry Gabrieve!" she said to Michelle. "And can I assume this is your husband and these are your children?" she added, indicating the the people who came in with the witch girl.

The witch smiled and said "Oh right! Introduction time!" She gathered the kids together and said "Well,this is Ned, he's my husband. He's a swordsmith by trade."

"He is?" interupted Lemmy."Ha, I've got some business for him!"

"Well, tommorrow perhaps?" said michelle, as she turned to her obvious oldest, a tall, lanky girl who looked a lot like her father, but with the promise of filling out beautifully, like her mother, when the time came. "This is my eldest, Maude. And then there's Rod, my oldest boy, and here's little baby Todd." she said. She smiled at the group. "I'm not Lina, but I've done some impressive magic at times, but for all that, these three are my greatest and most magical! And I didn't even have to use witchcraft!"

"But you did..." smirked her husband quietly.

"Oh! You!" she said, giving him a giggle.

"What does daddy mean?", asked Maude.

Michelle blushed and replied "Tell you later..."

Lina giggled. "Yep, I'd say you are right, Michelle, it can't get more magical than that..."

"Oh! You too?" said Rowena with a smile.

"Not yet, but I'm working on it, when I can..." Lina replied.

"How long have you been married?" Rowena asked.

"Let me think, it seems like forever ago, with all we've been through..." said Lina. "Let's see, Prince Phil married us the night before we flew down, that's one, we stayed overnight then did our thing the next day, that's two, we came back and spent the night in the village, that's three, and we came here today, so four days ago... Gee, it seemed longer somehow."

"We've been busy." said Ayn.

Suddenly, a strong gust of cold wind blew over everyone. "Here comes the rain!" someone shouted and everyone dispersed to find shelter as large drops began to fall with a vengance.

Lina and her group ran back to the hotel they were staying at. Michelle and her family, plus the mayor and some of the city council came as well. And many of the city folk were there also, to listen, if nothing else...

Soon they were seated around a table, larger than before, and hot tea was being served, complements of the owner. The waitress who had first served them seemed to somehow have drawn the honours of doing it again, but being that she only had the one table to serve, it didn't seem too hard on her to do overtime. Besides, she got to hear everything...

"So, Lina, what brings you here to our city in our time of need?" asked Michelle.

"Fate, pure and simple." replied Lina.

"Well, I can see that, okay." the blonde girl replied. "And who did you bring with you? Aside from, um, Gourry was it? We didn't have any introductions, he, he, he."

Lina sighed, Michelle was still doing the creepy laugh thing. Poor girl, it was probably ingrained in her...

"Well," Lina began, making the introductions, "Yep, it's Gourry, and this is Luna, she's my sister. Over here is Ayn, who is Luna's friend, and Milgasa who is a, er, friend of Ayn, and also someone I know from another adventure. And the lady with the swords is Lemmy, a famous Justice, uh, Slayer, who I helped out once, about the time I helped you, if I remember."

"Oh..." said Michelle, looking at Ayn and Milgasa. "Um, you have nice avatars..."she said, trying to be complementary.

"Of course we do!" smiled Ayn smuggly.

"She's polite if nothing else..." teased Luna.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" said Ayn with a hard look at Luna.

"Well come on, she easily guessed what you two are, it's not like you are fooling anyone, she's being nice to you." replied Luna, sounding a bit defiant.

"What you are?" asked the mayor, looking , and sounding, uncertain.

"Uh, no, no, my powers let me sense it, that's all..."said Michelle a bit nervously. "Just like I know you are a person of power too, Miss Luna, though I don't know what."

"So there!" smirked Ayn triumphantly at Luna, then she turned to the mayor and said "For the record, Lord Milgasa and I are high dragons in avatar form."

"Oh..." said the mayor and several of the on lookers, clearly quite impressed. One of them turned to Luna and asked "And what are you?"

Luna grinned triumphantly and boasted "I'm a part time waitress!"

There was a puzzled silence, but the waitress that was serving them said "And a good one too." with a smile.

Luna smiled back "Hey, you're pretty good yourself. You ever make Zephilia City you can work for my place any time."

"Thanks!" said the girl with an appreciative smile.

"Uh?" said the mayor, even more confused.

"Well, Lina is a powerful mage." explained Michelle, also looking confused. "Naturally, she's have powerful people with her. I guess her sister is a powerful waitress and that's what I picked up on."

"Finally, someone who gets it right." said Luna.

"Huh. Okay, got it..." said Michelle, cluing in that whatever Luna was wasn't for public knowlege. "And you are a swordswoman?" she asked Lemmy, changing the subject.

"Yup." said Lemmy, helpfully.

Rowena blinked, not quite sure where to go.

Lina helped her out. "Lemmy is a Justice, uh, Slayer, she goes around looking for evil to undo. We met her at the site with the pikemen actually, she wasn't one of our companions earlier. But she was helpful in the battle, it was good for us she was there."

"Naturally!" enthused Lemmy. Then she giggled. "So, Lina helped you out too did she?" she said to Michelle. "How'd she do that, you don't seem like you'd be the sort to need another magician's help?"

Rowena laughed, pleasantly this time. "Well, as for that, it wasn't magic, it was helping me with my social life. See, I was a young girl when my dad died and I was raised by my mom, who was a witch and taught me her whole art. But to do that she moved me out to the country and raised me in isolation so I could concentrate. I suspect she intended to move me back and socialise me, but she died too, and I was left alone, unsure of myself, and really, really shy. I had the habit of wearing my robes all the time, hood up, and I had picked up on the creepy laugh she always used, so I did it too. The problem was that when I went to town for help, or supplies, people got weirded out by me and thought I was a scary monster. They hired Lina to go get me, and she did, by talking to me, then taking me to town and explaining what was up. Oh, and she had me drop the hood so people could see I was just a young woman, and then after that things were better. I still had some rough moments, but it was just all growing up stuff. Eventually I fell in love, got married, then had a baby. We moved because we wanted more work, and we ended up here. It's been great, lots of work, more babies, and a great life. Then the bandits came, and I wasn't strong enough for them, so I ended up trapped in here like everyone else. Now, we are liberated, thanks to all of you. And what's your story, may I ask, Miss Lemmy?"

"Ah! Well, basically, my parents were killed by an evil man and I went out on a one woman crusade to revenge them, especially my father. I did what ever I had to to become a great swordswoman, and I aquired quite a number of swords and knives along the way, as you can see. At first I started out by killing anything or anyone that got in my way, and loving it, I might add, but then I met a young girl who explained to me about the importance of only killing the unjust in the world, and that I could slay all the unjust people I wanted. Naturally, this suited me well, so I agreed to do it." replied Lemmy with an evil grin...

"Now who does that remind me of?" said a puzzled Lina...

Lemmy went on "We even had an adventure together as some evil jerk tried to kill us, then when we got the better of him tried to shift the blame to the local drug lord. Needless to say, justice was served. Then I went on having adventures and was hot on the trail of my dad's killer when I ran into Lina here, and her big boobed pet bimbo. Hey, where is she by the way, Lina?" she asked.

"Sheesh! Watch how you say that will you Lemmy?" said Lina. "We were magic partners and nothing more, don't go giving me even more of a reputation than I already have for crying out loud. Anyway, she got way too obnoxious and we parted company many years ago."

"Ah. Okay, sorry..." said Lemmy with a sweat drop. "No offence meant. Well to finish my story, Lina helped me revenge my father, then we parted company, and I've been going around doing in the unjust since then, and having immense fun in the process!"

"Uh..." said Michelle, giving voice to what a lot of the people there were thinking...

Then Ayn asked "And did your friend who put you on to justice slaying remember to mention that little thing about being presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of competent jurisdiction?"

"What?" asked a puzzled Lemmy.

"Did the girl give you a name?" asked Lina.

"Just her first name, Amelia." replied Lemmy, still puzzled.

There was a loud bang as Lina's face thumped into the table.

"Sis?" asked Luna.

"I know of only one Amelia who would say such a thing..." replied Lina, "and she would likely assume the fair trial thing was taken as read..."

"Ah..." replied Luna.

"Do you know the Amelia I met?" said Lemmy, puzzled.

"I have a guess." replied Lina. "Look, you come back with us to Seirune, and I'll introduce you to my Amelia and you can decide if it's the same girl from there."

"Oh, okay." was Lemmy's reply.

"So, what's your plan then Lina?" asked Michelle.

"Well, if we ever get to bed, we sleep, and when the storm passes, we better fly off to Seirune and get our affairs in order again." the redhead answered sadly.

"I sense sorrow." said Rowena.

"We lost a big fight and two friends a few days ago, trying to rescue another friend from Beastmaster Zelas Metallium." she answered.

"Oh my!" more than one person gasped.

"Oh, I am so sorry for you!" exclaimed Michelle.

"And yet you won against the bandits?" asked the mayor, sensing an opening.

"Yes, we did." said Luna, sounding slightly annoyed at the implication. "But they were only a few fighters, a wizard, and strange mazoku/vampire cross of a monster. Not quite the same as a Mazoku high lord, I'm afraid."

"Ah, so, what's the story with the fight out there?" he asked, looking for details.

Ayn replied "Well, we saw the bandits taking the food cart and decided to follow them. We found their camp, realised they were about to perform a sacrifice on that poor girl child I brought back, and made plans to attack. Suddenly Miss Lemmy here appeared and attacked them by herself. she was doing a good job, but we realised she wasn't going to be fast enough to save the child, so we lent a hand. We dragons flew in and blasted who we could, and Lina and the rest got the others. Not much of a story to tell if you want long battles, I'm afraid."

"B-but didn't you leave later, Miss Luna?" asked her waitress friend as she refreshed the tea water.

"Yup, I got there too late, though I couldn't have done much anyway. Lina had things about all wrapped up, by the time I got there." replied Luna with a smile.

"So you have power too?" the girl insisted.

"Nah, I'm more a swordswoman. got that from Daddy." she said. "I got one stroke in on the monster to help save the child, then the end came. Missed all the fun, darn it." she added with a smirk.

Michelle gave her a look, but said nothing. The mayor caught the look, cocked an eye, but also let the matter be. Hey, he wasn't mayor for nothing...

"So, that's how it is, then." said the mayor.

"Wow..." said someone in the crowd.

"So, Lina, how did it go with Beastmaster?" asked Michelle.

"Well, it was a bust, really. After realising she was blocking our magic we weren't able to do too much. So, we lost, almost. Fortunatly I had one trick up my sleeve and it worked, but not before she Dragon Slaved us and caused two of our friends to die..." replied Lina, obvious sorrow in her voice.

Michelle looked puzzled. "I thought mazoku couldn't use other power than their own?" she asked.

"They can't, according to something HellMaster told me, it would be fatal if they admitted they were weak and needed someone elses help." Lina replied.

There was a pause as Michelle stared at her.

Lina twigged. "Oh gods above and below! Between the fight and the grief I never clued in. How the hell did she use the Dragon Slave and not die? That spell comes from Ruby Eyed Shabradnigdo!" she gasped in shock.

"You said she blocked your magic Lina?" asked Michelle.

Lina nodded. "It wasn't like she locked it away, we just couldn't use it. Except for my little trick, which I didn't remember in time to save my friends. No other type of magic would work."

"Was there life on the island?" asked Rowena.

"Yep, lots of it." said Lina.

"Witchcraft is based on the power of life, not like shamanism which is based on spirit magic. Tell me what you need and I'll see if I can help you somehow." said Rowena.

Lina smiled. "So it is, I forgot about that. Yes, there is life on the island, witchcraft might work. But it isn't as strong as shamanistic power, and I don't want to risk taking you to where she can hurt you." she said to the blonde girl.

Michelle nodded and smiled. "I know that, and I don't think I'd come for just that reason. But I might be able to lock some spells into some potions or philters if that would help you." she offered.

Lina nodded thoughtfully. "I will need to think on it, but I'll get back to you, okay? And thanks, this will be helpful."

Michelle smiled.

"What's the charge?" asked Luna, unexpectedly.

"Oh, er..." said Michelle, looking uneasy.

"He, he, tell you what, the city can thank us by picking up the tab!" giggled Luna.

"Hey? Just a miute Luna! I was going to get around to the reward." said Lina, looking upset.

"I know," said Luna, "that's why I forstalled you. These people are really poor after the bandits, and we shouldn't take from them."

Lina gulped a few times, then sighed and gave in. Luna was Luna after all...

The mayor rumbled into life and said "Well, Miss Luna, that is so very understanding of you and I commend you for your helpfulness in this matter..."

That was as far as he got before Luna reached out and grabbed his collar, pulling him close so she could stare at his face with a nasty smirk. If only he could see her eyes...

"You on the other hand, your Honour, are the kind of man who would have a stash somewhere that managed to remain untouched by the tribute. And I suspect the same of your councilors too. You were all planning to use it to help your people weren't you? I'd so hate to have to waste my time by coming back and having to discuss the matter with you." she said.

"W-what do you mean? Who are you?" the Mayor huffed as he extracted himself from Luna's unexpectedly strong grip.

"W-what's going on, Luna?' asked a confused Lina.

"Meh. My cover's about to be blown, I'm just making the best of it." said Luna, nodding at a man who was approaching the table, a fearful look on his face.

Lina looked at the guy, a big, brawny, a fighter of some sort for sure. He had some sort of armour on, bearing what was likely the city crest. A guard then. He reminded Lina of the "Great Volun" in some ways, though it wasn't him. She smirked knowingly, Luna must have kicked this guy's ass at some point, and now he was coming to grovel...

"M-Miss Luna? Luna Inverse?" he asked, as he came to the table.

"Ah, Captain!" said the mayor, as if on cue. "You know this woman? Please, impress on her that she not to grab me and make useless accusations, or idle threats!"

"Captain, huh? You're doing well for yourself..." snickered Luna.

"P-please Miss Luna, I just wanted to thank you for saving us. We guards really did try, but we just couldn't overcome the strength of their monster. She killed many of us." he said. Then he bowed before her.

"What?" said the mayor, sounding confused and annoyed. "Who is this woman?"

The Captain looked confused. "Don't you recognise the Knight of Ceiphied, your Honour?" he asked. The room became silent at that...

"See?" said Luna to Lina.

"You are...?" said the mayor, finally.

Luna nodded.

"Well, I promise you that I and my councilors will do whatever we can, including dipping into our own resources..." he said with a gulp.

"I sure hope so..." said Luna. "Oh, by the way, you are welcome, Captain." she added with a smile.

"Right, I believe our business is done, so, if you will all excuse us..." said the mayor, as he signaled to his councilors to follow him.

"Nighty night..." smirked Ayn.

After they left Michelle said "We better go too, kids need putting to bed and that." she said indicating her youngest who was asleep on her lap.

"Okay, and I will keep in touch now I know where you are." said Lina as she stood up and said her goodbyes to Michelle.

Soon, they were alone, except for the admiring crowd.

"Bed time?" asked Gourry, finally joining the conversation.

"Oh, as if you weren't napping..." muttered Lina.

The gang retired to their "barracks" and spread out the bedding, making room as best they could. There was no privacy, but it was only for one night. The addition of Lemmy made things a bit tighter, though Lina did alleviate some of the pressure on the beds by insisting on sleeping on the floor with Gourry. "You sure, Lina?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." she said cuddling in. "Gods, I wish we were alone..." she added.

"Oh? And why would that be?" teased Luna.

"Because you snore." cut in Ayn.

"Well, really!" Luna huffed back.

Eventually they all settled, and went off to an uneasy sleep, with the rain beating against their window. 


	20. Chapter 22

Zelgadiss awoke to an immense clap of thunder. Now he knew what had been disturbing his dreams, how long had it been raining?

Raining! Raining water! Fresh water! Oh gods, he had to get up and collect some, somehow. He reached around for his water bottle.

There was a bright flash of lightning, and he saw a rivulet pouring down at the back of the rock face. Wow, just how hard was it raining??? He got up and went over to where he had seen the water. When he found it he stuck his bottle in the stream and it was filled quickly. He took a big, big drink.

Of course he remembered...

He refilled the bottle, then carefully went over in the pitch black to Sylphiel. She was asleep, how odd. And she took a long time to wake up. She felt so cold. Fear began to settle in his heart, she was in bad shape. Still, he was able to wake her up, and get her to drink. She seemed to gain strength and vitality from taking in the water.

He got her water bottle and refilled both of them. He went back and got her to drink some more, but he was careful not to let her take too much at once. In her state she didn't need to get nauseated and start throwing up, that could be fatal. Eventually she was more or less hydrated, and they had full bottles again. Just in time too, as the storm was moving off, taking the water with it.

Now they could see the dawn was trying to happen behind the storm. Zel wrung out his cloak and wrapped it around Sylphiel. "It's wool" he explained. When she looked blank he added "Even wet, wool has some insulating properties. You feel like a block of ice." he added as he began to vigorously massage her legs and arms. He felt her injured foot, it was like the middle of winter. He held it between his hands to try and warm it. She gave a yelp as he moved it, but it was so cold it was actually numb to most pain. If she wasn't so cold, Sylphiel might have enjoyed the relief from the pain. As it was, she was definitely, and possibly dangerously, hypothermic. Getting soaked hadn't been good for her at all...

"If only we could build a fire." sighed Zel.

"W-why don't we ask Beastmaster? I'm sure she'd make one for us." said Sylphiel through chattering teeth. "Give us the place of honour even..."

"Well, no doubt about that." said Zel as he continued to rub and hold whatever he could to warm up his companion. He gave her a shake as she drifted off. "Don't sleep, Sylphiel, you might not wake up again." he warned.

The girl gave a moan. "I don't know if I can..." she said, quietly.

Zel knew real fear at that. He couldn't lose her, he just couldn't. "Okay, we have to get the wet stuff off of you." he said. With that he stripped off her coat and her blouse, leaving only her undergarments, and what was left of her pants, on. He then took his own top off and hugged her to him tightly. Skin to skin heat transfer was what he wanted. He rubbed her back vigorously. He just had to warm her.

After a time, she began to warm up and come around. The sun rose eventually, and things warmed up on the ledge, and began to dry out. Zel kept hugging her and rubbing her back. Eventually she roused more and he finally let her go and began to rub her arms and legs again. When she was finally warming up in the summer sun he was able to stop. He went and laid out their clothing as best he could to let it dry.

As he did so he gave Sylphiel a good hard appraisal. He didn't like what he saw, the girl was weak, very weak. He felt sure she wouldn't be able to walk today at all. He wondered if she was slowly bleeding inside somewhere. Okay, he'd have to carry her, that was all there was to that. But, how far could he make it? Well, as far as he had to, right? He just hoped he had the strength, this was taking a toll on him too. Well, they weren't moving until they had drier clothing, so there was some time to rest. Sylphiel had gone back to sleep, but he could tell by looking at her it was more of a restful sleep, not the hypothermic drifting away she had been doing earlier. He decided it was a good idea, so he even joined her in getting a nap.

It was later in the morning, and hotter out when he awoke again. Sylphiel was still asleep beside him. He felt like luxuriating in the warmth, but he was only too aware of the limits of their water, so he decided getting too hot while just sitting still was not an option, and he got up to get dressed as best he could.

After he was done, he roused Sylphiel and helped her get dressed, which was easier said than done. He was deeply worried now, this was not a natural exhaustion, even after all she had been through. Something was wrong, he could feel it, and if they didn't find a healer soon, it would be all over for her. Maybe he would have been kinder to have helped her take the plunge?

Outwardly, he remained silent for her sake, but inside, he roared in anger at himself for even thinking such thoughts. Right, they needed to get going and now. It was hard and it hurt her, but he scooped her up in his arms and set out down the path again. It was not easy, she was over balancing him again, and the ledge was narrow. There were times he had to staned there and gasp, and times he had to use willpower he didn't realise that he had to avoid dropping her. But there were always just enough spots that were a bit wider and he could go down on a knee and rest. Sylphiel would come awake, and beg him to stop, then she'd drift off again.

Zel climbed down for a long time, moving a bit, then resting, then moving, and resting some more. Somewhere along the way he moved Sylphiel from his arms to his shoulders, which was a bit easier, but it was still hard to move. He knew he needed a break, but the path wouldn't give him one. Still, they were now within two or three hundred feet of the bottom, which was gladdening, but, he had another worry now. They had come most of the way around the side of the mountain. At this rate, when they reached the bottom they would be by the main gate. and that would likely be warded or even guarded. They would have climbed all the way down just to present themselves at Beastmaster's front door. Well, he'd have to think of what to do when he got there.

He did find a wider spot and was able to sit and look out. Sylphiel slept beside him. He did get her to rouse and drink, and he drunk too. He was starving but he had to put all thoughts of that out of his mind, all his food was in his cape, and magically sealled away from him. He rested a long time on the side of the cliff. He could see that the island was densely wooded for the most part, but off in the middle distance was a big pond. He saw no river or stream flowing into it, but he did see a small one flowing out. It might have been a spring fed pond. Right, if he could get down, he'd make for it, it should be full of good, fresh water. But it was likely the local watering hole for the wolves that the island was named after, he'd have to be careful.

Finally, he forced himself up, picked Sylphiel up, and carried on. He grew more worried about the gate as they were down to about the hundred foot mark. Then the whole question became academic when the path ended...

"Now what?" he asked himself, with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He looked around, feeling panicy for a minute, then he got hold of himself. What ever the problem, panic would only make it worse. He took a good look around, and eventually realised that the damage was different here. Instead of shearing the path off something had flaked it away. Indeed, there was something that reminded him of, well, of gravel, to this part of the cliff face. He wasn't sure what kind of an attack had done this, but he could see why the path had ended, it had flaked to pieces instead of just breaking off chunks like the rest of the path seemed to have done.

Then he looked down.

"Sylphiel! Sylphiel!" he said in a desperate whisper. It took time but he roused her.

"Huh?" she asked, groggily.

"We are in a bind, there is a way out, but it's going to be tricky." said Zel.

This seemed to wake Sylphiel up some more, so he was able to explain. "Look, the path has ended and there is no way to walk down any more."

"So, we jump after all..." she said.

"Yes, but that's the point!" Zel went on, excitedly. "It's a long shot, but something blasted this part of the mountain into gravel, not sharp slabs with pointy bits on it, and there is a steep, but passable slope of gravel not thirty feet below us."

Sylphiel looked. "Th-that's a big drop..." she said timidly.

"For you, yes, but I think I can bear it." said Zel. "If I can jump right, and land right, I can take the impact while I hold you safe, and then we can get down. We are only about a hundred feet from the base of the mountain."

Sylphiel took a minute to ponder this in her groggy way. then she turned to Zelgadiss and said "I trust you."

Zel was silent for a few seconds. Somehow that wasn't the response he had expected, but actually, it was better. "I will prove worthy of that trust." he promised.

After giving it a bit more thought, he managed to sit down and arrange for Sylphiel to be on his lap. He then took her in his arms and asked "Are you ready?"

She gave him another kiss on the cheek. "It was lucky last time." she said with a smile.

Zel smiled back. "Here we go..." he warned. He carefully slid forward...

The plunge was brief, thirty feet took maybe a second to fall. He hugged her tight. She gave a squeal, but surpressed her scream. Then the gravel. As he feared the impact tried to throw him backward, and his decision to fall with his back against the cliff saved them as he rammed against it, keeping them upright. He landed on his butt, then on his back, and proceeded to slide many feet down the gravel, cutting his clothes, and even himself in the process. That was new...

Finally they skidded to a stop. the last lurch toppling him around on top of Sylphiel. she gave a gasp of shock, then things settled as they just lay there, face to face. for a long time they just lay there, looking at each other, listening to the last of the rocks fall, hoping that neither an avalance, nor a curious guard showed up. Finally Zel managed to smile, and he quipped "We have to stop meeting like this...".

Sylphiel just stared at him for a space of time, then suddenly kissed him fully on the lips and quietly said "Thank you."

And people thought chimeras couldn't blush...

Zel got up, carefully, and after a couple of painful tried he got Sylphiel up onto his back. He had a few close calls, but he actually managed to make it all the way down without dropping her, or falling over.

And then...

As he stepped away from the gravel and onto green grass at the edge of the trees he whispered excitedly to Sylphiel "We're down, Sylphiel, we've made it down!"

It was only then that he realised that she had drifted out of conciousness again.

"Damn! Damn! I have got to get her off this island." he said, fear again returning to his heart. She was sick, very sick, and he could do nothing. How to get her away from here? How? Well, no choice, was there, he had to head to the water.

Water.

Right, the pond, they needed more fresh water. Like it or not, Zel had to go to the pond, then to the sea.

Well, no time like the present, who wanted to live forever? He took Sylphiel onto his back once more and staggered off in the direction he had seen the water. His hope was to get the water while the sun was up, then head off and be under cover by dark. He had seen nothing the previous nights he had spent on the island, but he did recall there had been some wierd noises, and he didn't relish the thought of meeting whatever it was that had caused them. With that, he stepped into the forest, Sylphiel on his back.

He didn't know it, but what he was doing looked vaguely reminiscent of the time Sylphiel had carried Lina on her back into the caves beneath Sairaag when she was injured to the point of death during the battle against Copi Rezo. but this time there would be no magic healing on the edge of the pool...

Zel stumbled on. He grit his teeth and ignored his own pain, he would not let Sylphiel down. But he could feel the weakness growing in him too. He pondered in his mind the best course of action, to try and escape during the night, or to try to rest and wait until morning. rest would give him strength, and light, but it would give light to his enemies. And who knew how much delay Sylphiel could stand?

He was lucky, the island was small and the pond was close. As the evening turned to the start of dusk he came upon the pond. It was empty, no wolves or other animals were to be seen. He carefully tasted the water and determined it not to be poisoned or dirty and drank. After a few minutes with no immediate reaction he decided it ws safe. He managed to get Sylphiel to drink too, though all she wanted now was sleep. He gave her a quick look over and was relieved to find that her left ankle and foot, though swollen, had good circulation. Her ribs seemed stable, the fractured ends hadn't moved. That was even better. but her poor little finger was cold and turning black. It was truely dead now, and no healer had the magic to bring it back.

Then he looked into her half open eyes. His own eyes stung with tears as he realised her pupils were different sizes. That was why she was sleepy, she had hurt her brain somehow, and needed immediate care. And he wasn't able to give it to her. The only good thing was that it was the type of injury that took time to show up, if Sylphiel had passed out from the injury right after the fall she'd be long dead by now. He hugged her close and whispered into her ear "Hold on, Sylphiel, by all you hold dear, hold on. I will get you out of this. I will get you help. Just hold on. We can't lose you, you are our friend. I..."

He paused for a moment, then decided to say it. "I can't lose you, Sylphiel, you've become more than a friend to me..."

He was silent for awhile, there was nothing more to say.

He took a deep breath. His next course of action was decided. He looked around and got his bearings. If he kept the mountain behind him, then he'd be pointed at the sea. Once more he picked up Sylphiel. He knew he'd make it, as long as the wolves didn't come. He started hearing strange noises everywhere. He wasn't sure what was real and what was exaggerated imagination. He was aware he was running on nerves as much as anything now. He had been brave for Sylphiel, but now that she was passed out and possibly in a life threatening situation, he found his false front of courage evaporating. He was scared after all. Good old human fear. And yet, somehow, he wasn't entirely unhappy to have it, it did make him feel human. He knew that Sylphiel was right, he was a human inside, despite the chimera flesh. He knew it was something he needed to feel more of. He was slowly choking himself inside with his mask of moody angst and silent toughness. It also amazed him to no end that he would think thoughts like this, now, in the middle of sneaking through the woods in a life or death situation.

"wow, am I screwed up, or what?" he asked himself.

Then, he was there, with the light now fading, he had reached the shore of the sea. Now to figure out how to leave...

That was harder than it seemed at first. It was a good five miles or more to the farther shore, a hard enough swim for people in good shape, which neither of them were. Furthermore, with no light he couldn't be sure of the direction. There'd be a moon later in the night, but it wasn't up yet. What to do?

Well, the first thing to do would be not to stay out in the open by the shore here. He gently dragged Sylphiel back to the trees and hoped that they would give some protection. He hugged her, trying to keep her warm, and thought hard about how to escape.

He awoke with a start! He had been sleeping? Oh no! But oh yes, there was the moon riding into the sky, casting pale but welcome light on the surroundings. He hadn't even realised he was drifting off. But after the initial shock of it all, he realised just how tired he had been. He actually felt refreshed now, his little nap had given him a bit more strength. But it hadn't brought him any closer to a solution. And Sylphiel was still unconcious in his arms. "Right," he said to himself, taking a deep drink from the water bottle, "it's now or never Zel, get to work."

He gently let Sylphiel sink to the ground then got up. He started looking around. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he needed to see what was around, maybe he'd stumble upon a plan.

A short time later, he did just that. He stumbled upon a plan. Well, actually, he stumbled over a fallen tree limb and went down with a crash. he got up feeling angry and annoyed, and a bit silly for not paying better attention. He gave the limb a kick, and it moved. He realised he could lift it, and had a flash of desire to throw it away. suddenly, as if a vision were granted to him, he thought of throwing it into the sea. Yes, and if he did that, it would float...

Now he knew how to get away. He couldn't swim all the way, but maybe he could float! And Sylphiel could float beside him! He examined the log more carefully, it seemed big enough. It was a dead limb, he could feel the quality of the wood, but, for what he needed it should do. Yes, this might just work. He grasped the log, and after a bit of a strain lifted it up. It was heavy, but he got it out of the dent in the ground it was lying in, and after that he was able to half lift, half drag it to the shore. It floated! Now, how to do the rest of this? Sylphiel couldn't hang on, but there was a bit of a branch coming off the limb, if he balanced things carefully, he could...

What?

He sighed and though a bit more. As he did he patted himself to see if there was any inspiration to be had, and he found the pant leg ropes he had made, oh, an eternity ago, when he wanted to carry her along the cliff. Okay, it wasn't good, but she was unconcious now and couldn't hold on. He would have to tie her to the log and float the lot of them out off the island. Then...

Then?

Moon or not, he didn't know which way to go. What to...

Something howled a short distance away!

What to do? Get off the island and worry about it later, that's what to do!

He dashed back, grabbed up Sylphiel, and took her to the water. In short order he had her floating on the tree limb, and had her secured as best he could. He was amazed the water felt warm, the volcano that had formed the island might be extinct, but the fire was still active somewhere down below...

He pushed off and paddled out into the blackness. Good thing too, for not fifteen minutes later an excited pack of wolves was sniffing away at the beach, and looking out into the dark water. They weren't sure what they were smelling, but it obviously had left the island. After some more excited but fruitless sniffing they took off to tell the head wolf what they'd found.

Zel swam on. The warm water held and he was able to maintain a steady pace. He desperately wished Sylphiel would wake up. He also wished he knew which direction the shore was, if he was going the wrong way they'd be heading out into the ocean...

After a time he realised the water was cooling. So, there was a limit to where the earth fire reached. Hmmm. But that meant they'd start to chill. But he couldn't go back either, no, he would have to go on, and see what he could do.

After a bit, as he was definitely getting cold, he also started to notice a tingling over his body. He didn't understand it, but it felt familiar. He hoped it wasn't some attack being aimed at them. but it didn't feel like an attack. He swam on, pushing Sylphiel on the limb with him, moving farther away from the island. In the moonlight he could see they were now over a mile out from their former prison. The tingling was stronger now, and suddenly he knew what it was, and laughed out loud. It was nothing more, or less, serious than his magic power coming back! Of course! he had swum out of the perimmiter of the spell that had surpressed their magic when they flew into it all those days ago! All? wait, how many had it been? He thought he counted four days now, but he was so mixed up from all the struggling he had just gone through he wasn't sure. Well, it didn't matter, he'd get it later.

He swam on, letting the water get colder, until he felt his magic was back. Now he knew how to save Sylphiel. He stopped swimming and rested for a minute, then he untied her and took her in his arms. He concentrated and chanted the spell. It had to work.

"Levitation." he commanded, and to his utter joy, THEY FLEW!!!

Zel quickly had them up a hundred or sofeet in the air. this was great! His magic was more sure than the cliff ledge had been. He smiled, they had done it, they had bested Beastmaster in this atleast, by escaping her island!

Something made him look down. A finned shape suddenly appeared and crunched the tree limb with a mouthfull of wicked teeth. He gasped, their close call had been closer than he realised. And they were still in the air, not at a healers, they weren't really out of it yet. There might be birds after all...

Zel began a slow flight, circling the island and gaining altitude until he finally saw what he desperately sought, a dark line on the horizon that was the far shore. He turned to it and willed his magic to take them forward. 


	21. Chapter 23

The next morning the gang settled in for a long breakfast. The dragons insisted they were in form and would undertake to fly everyone back to Seirune, but they wanted to be fed first.

Especially Ayn...

So, despite the fact that the city was still on short commons, a large, if plain, breakfast had been made ready for the heros and they set to with a will. Even Lina and Gourry were squabbling like old times about who took what, and how much, from which plate, when, where, and how hard a smacking down was justifiable as a result...

It was a chance remark from Gourry that showed how fragile it really all was. He sipped his tea and immediately made a sour face. "Man this stuff is strong! It's just like what Zel always drank..."

There was a rattle as Lina dropped her cutlery and, after a quick struggle, burst into tears.

"Oh..." he said quietly, as he gathered her into a hug. "Lina, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"It's okay, Jellyfish..." said Lina through her tears. "I've... been trying to keep a brave face for this trip back, but my grief is just below the surface. I'm sorry everyone, but I think I can only keep this up till we get back to Seirune, then you'll have to excuse me, I intend to take at least one day off and weep in private. Oh gods, they were our friends..."

"I think we all will, sis..." said Luna quietly as she reached out and gently stroked Lina's hair.

Lemmy said nothing, but she knew the power of grief all too well, and felt sad that there was no way to help her companions. Self appointed "Justice Slayer" or not, it would be a grave mistake to think she didn't have a heart.

The atmosphere was somewhat more solemn around the table for the rest of the breakfast, but, after a few sniffles, Lina controlled herself, and they all ate. Then a brief time of settling, and a quiet "We better get going." from Ayn.

The city was alive with people, and there was a lot of joy in the air. Troops had been dispatched and had reported back that indeed the bandits had all been killed. Further more, there was a fair stockpile of food and drink, probably enough to make sure that the people would have some food for the next few days as the city sought help in restocking. What was better, most if not all the gold and silver that was stolen over the period of time that the bandits had been raiding them was still there, they would quickly all have money again, or so promised the Mayor, as he glanced at Luna. With that, the rebuilding of the city would go smoothly.

Lina did wonder if maybe now was a good time to mention the possibility of getting a just reward, but, after reminding herself that doing this for free was Luna's idea, she wisely kept her mouth shut. But it was certainly not an easy task. Fortunately, altruism wasn't Luna's strong suit any more than it was Lina's, so this was obviously an exception. That helped, a bit...

As people realised that the Slayers were making their way through the city many cheers of thanks and blessing were sent up. This did help to lift the spirits of the gang somewhat, as did the fact that it promised to be another beautiful flying day. The sky was a clear, clean blue after the rain with a few white puffy cottonball shaped clouds. "Fair weather today." they said.

"Ever been on a long flight?" Lina asked Lemmy.

"Er, no..." the slightly nervous girl replied.

"You are in for a treat!" said Lina.

The treat took a little while, the crowds would follow them so, and finding the requisite privacy took a slight bit of doing. But, found it was, and finally there stood the two dragons in their true form, one gold, and one black, flexing their wings in the sunlight and preparing for take off. "Mr. Gourry and Mrs. Lina on me, her Ladyship, and Miss Lemmy on you?" suggested Milgasa. Ayn nodded yes.

There was less banter as the riders mounted the dragons, things were a bit too solemn for that much fun, but attempts were made. "Can we take the justly deserved "Yee Haw, and the inevitable submissive snarl as given?" asked Luna with a slight smirk, as she settled into her acustomed seat on Ayn's shoulders.

"Okay by me, but I'll still do a for real barrel roll if you tick me off." warned Ayn.

"Sure, sure, remind me to get my spurs next time we do this." replied Luna, obviously not taking Ayn too seriously.

"Uh..." said Lemmy, nervously, not knowing just how seriously to take the banter.

The dragons lifted off smoothly and Lemmy soon forgot her fear in the wonder of elevation. As Lina had discovered a few days ago, Lemmy now found out that indeed, flying was fun! The dragons set a nice steady pace and the wind was just enough to be pleasant. She too felt the the indescribable beauty of flight, but said little beyond "W-wow, so pretty...", and thus missed a chance to hear dragon poetry. But, perhaps a swordswoman prefered to be to the point?

(Suddenly, the story was interupted as a chibi Lina and chibi Lemmy appeared and fireballed the author. "I HATE PUNS!" chibi Lina screamed in an oh so cute rage while chibi Lemmy stood on her oh so cute dignity, arms crossed, glaring, as the poor writer took off to douse himself. After a short time of agonised recovery, and a humble, and even humiliating apology, plus a promise to watch it in the future, he was allowed to return to his keyboard...)

"I never get tired of this either." said Luna, smiling at her. "But don't tell Ayn I said that, okay?" she added.

A chuckle rumbles throught he dragon. "Go ahead, tell me every little thing that Luna says..." she coaxed.

"H-hey?" said Lemmy, a sweat drop blowing off of her forehead in the wind as she hoped this was a bit of a joke.

"He, he, it's okay." smirked Luna. "This is what happens when heros go bad and turn out to be human after all. Look, why don't you sit behind me here and I can point out things as we go along? I won't bite, honest. Unless ya want me to..." she teased.

Lemmy shrugged, and then decided to smile. "Comedian..." she thought, but didn't say. She did manage to get behind Luna at the base of Ayn's neck. A bit cozy perhaps, but how else was she supposed to sit? And it did make it easier for her to see, for miles and miles.

"I have got to get me one of these!" she enthused, patting Ayn.

"Hmph! Watch who you're patronising..." muttered Ayn.

I think that would be matronising in her case..." smiled Luna.

"Comedian..." grumbled Ayn.

In the meanwhile Lina was enjoying her flight snuggled in Gourry's arms. She didn't look forward to the end of the journey, she'd have to tell Amelia what happened, and then there's be lots of uncontrolled crying to deal with, plus what ever Amelia did, but it couldn't be helped. She looked up to her husband and gave him a tender look.

"Gourry." she said, getting his attention, not that it was far from her.

Not that it was ever far from her...

"Hiya beautiful." he replied, acknowleging her with the special smile she always brought to his face.

Lina smiled back,it was wonderful to be loved. She looked into his eyes and asked "Maybe I'm being sentimental here, but, when we start having babies, can we name one of our sons Zelgadiss, and one of our daughters Sylphiel?"

Gourry hugged her a bit tighter and said "That would be great. And who knows, if the guys who say we go around again after death are right, maybe they'd like to be born into our children?"

Lina chuckled. "I didn't know you were quite so theological, I'm impressed."

"Who's this Theo guy? The one who's logical?" asked Gourry, apparently meaning it.

Lina just sighed and settled into him even closer. She'd whack him for that later, when she was able to enjoy it...

Of course, all good things come to an end. By mutual agreement it was decided not to put off the inevitable, so the dragons did the almost unthinkable and flew on straight through lunch. Lina had a premonition that if she had anything on her stomach when the time came to tell Amelia, it would only turn into lead in her belly anyway.

Thus it was that in the early afternoon Milgasa quietly announced "Seirune."

At first the humans couldn't see it, there were some slight advantages to dragon sight, or so Ayn alleged, but soon enough the white city came into view on the horizon. Lina found herself wishing the flight would go a bit slower, but, it wouldn't be fair to Amelia to make her wait either. She gave a sigh. "I'm not looking forward to this..." she muttered.

"It would be very cold of you if you were." replied Milgasa softly. "Shedding many bitter tears for good friends who are lost is not something to be ashamed of. They are a testament to how worthy your friends really were."

Lina sniffed. "Yeah, you are right. Thanks Milgasa, I do appreciate it."

A short time later the dragons began decending and again they landed outside the city to make their change back to human form. They were noted by the guards who had been given strict orders to let the gang in as soon as they got back, so, in what seemed like way too soon, they were at the palace. Lina could feel the tears starting already. They were ushered in, and taken to the main waiting area as messengers were sent to notify Amelia and Phil.

The dreaded moment arrived soon enough. A happy tripping of feet, it could only be Amelia running in to greet them, and yes, indeed, that's exactly who it was. An enormous smile of pure joy lit up her face. Lina cringed as Amelia seemed to get right to the point.

"You're back! You're back! You're back!" she squealed, sounding delighted. She looked around, her eyes shining like beacons of joy. She immediately spied Lemmy.

"Ah! It's you! Oh it's been so long I apologise for forgetting your name, Miss, but I remember you, we had that adventure where we had to stop that wizard and his drug selling overlord!" she said as she ran over and started pumping Lemmy's hand. "Oh, where are my manners. I'm Amelia!'

Lemmy smiled a big warm smile. "Yes, yes you are, you are the girl who taught me to only slay for justice. Now a beautiful young woman I see. And I remember your name, Amelia, but you never told me "Princess" went in front of it, Majesty. You will be happy to know I've stuck to my promise to only go after evil doers..."

"Oh I am, I am!" enthused Amelia. "But do me a favour and please drop the formal crap unless we are in some sort of ceremony. I get that all the time around here, and frankly, there are times when getting called "Princess" so often makes me think I sound like a pet cat or something."

"Well, I could call you "Princess Kitty" if you'd prefer." teased Lemmy with a laugh. "Anyway, my name is Lemmy Martin, at your service, your felineship." she said, curtsying formally.

Amelia was so happy she quite got the giggles at this. She looked around at the others as she did. Then she stopped. "Um, where's Miss Filia?" she asked. "Was she hurt? Are Mr. Zelgadiss and Miss Sylphiel helping her to the infirmary?" She had an innocent, even kittenish, look on her face, and looked ready to run to wherever they were.

Lina now came forward and put a hand on Amelia's shoulder. True to her fears her tears were already flowing, but she managed to hold down the quaver in her voice as she said "We got defeated, Amelia, Zel's not, not, coming back..." With that she broke down completely.

Amelia stared at Lina for several seconds, the smile slowly falling off her face and shock coming on to replace it. "W-what?" she asked quietly, total confusion in her voice.

"It's true." said Luna quietly. "We were attacked by Beastmaster herself, and in the course of the battle Mr. Zelgadiss and Miss Sylphiel... fell off a cliff..."

"B-b-but... but they could just Raywing to safety..." Amelia said, still quiet, and very confused.

"Beastmaster blocked our ability to use magic!" cried Lina in ragged sobs. "They couldn't fly..."

Amelia stood there for several long seconds, just processing. This was impossible!

But...

She even tried to be brave, just like when she had thought her father had been murdered.

But...

Suddenly, unable to deny the apparent truth before her, she gave a scream of absolute agony that came from the deepest part of her. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!" She turned and ran off, almost knocking over her father who had quietly come into the room a short time after she did, and who had heard most of the conversation.

"I see I have a heartbroken daughter to attend to." he said. He looked at the Master at Arms and the head Butler and said "Please settle our guests, I will attend to them later." He turned to follow Amelia.

"P-Prince Phillionel?" said Lina, still crying, now on Gourry's shoulder. The Prince turned back. Lina went on through her sobs "I know Amelia never told you, but maybe you should know now that she was completely in love with Zel..."

Prince Phil smiled sadly and replied "Mrs. Gabrieve, I believe that you will discover, in the fullness of time, that parents generally know more about their children than the children, even adult ones, realise. But I thank you for your honesty." He turned to go, then turned back once more. "Lina?" he said. When the petite mage nodded he went on. "I hope you will not go home or anything like that just yet. It's just a feeling I have, but I believe that if all of you mourn together you will help each other better than if you go your separate ways."

"Okay." said Lina quietly.

In a short enough time they were all given rooms. Ayn, or maybe it was Luna, told the servants that the group didn't bring any mourning clothes, so a detail was sent out to find suitably sized, and coloured, garments for them all. And after that, there was indeed a lot of crying in private.

Lemmy of course didn't mourn as the others did, she had never even met the deceased. She was given leave to wander the grounds and the gardens and did so. Heck, it was her first time in a palace. Or at least in one this fancy. Along the way she found a private enclosure that looked like it was normally locked up, but which was open. So, she yielded to curiosity and went in.

Inside was a private little garden. The central piece consisted of two well grown Cherry trees. Between the trees was a little statue on a pedestal, of an angel in mourning. It appeared to have been carved from a crystal, perhaps an Amethyst?

At the base of this staue was a kneeling Amelia, now softly weeping.

Lemmy approached quietly. When she could read the inscription on the statue's base she realised it was dedicated to the late queen, Amelia's mother. Ah, the Princess had been pouring out her grief to her departed mother. How tragic. How poigniant. She decided not to interrupt, so she went to one side, where there was a bench, and sat down to wait.

After a bit, Amelia raised her head and looked over to Lemmy. She tried to give her a teary smile. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make a scene..." she blubbered.

"Don't be, you didn't." said Lemmy with a sad smile of her own. "Princess, I have also lost loved ones at an early age. I know that I don't know your grief fully, but I think I have an idea of what you are going through. If this Zel was someone you found worthy of your love then he is certainly worthy of your grief. And I have intruded on your privacy, not you on mine, so, I have nothing to say except please mourn him as you see fit. I am here only to try to give you a bit of comfort in your time of pain, but if you prefer to be alone, I will leave again."

Amelia was silent for a minute, then got up and went to the bench. She sat beside Lemmy, and after another few seconds she laid her head on the other girl's shoulders and wept softly some more as her companion hugged her. After a time she whispered "Th- thank you, I'm sorry, I'm just so mixed up right now..."

"Ya, it's not every day a girl's world gets turned upside down and violently shaken..." replied Lemmy.

Amelia nodded and was silent for a long time. Lemmy realised words weren't needed, and just stayed there, holding the grieving girl.

After awhile Lemmy suggested "Princess, you seem tired, would you like to take a nap?"

Amelia was flat when she replied "I don't know what to do, I will do as you say..."

Lemmy took that for a yes and gently led the smaller girl back to the palace where she was gently taken by the servants and eventually settled. 


	22. Chapter 24

Zelgadiss arrived at the far shore, Sylphiel lying limp in his arms. He had gone the last half mile on sheer willpower. He hadn't really realised how exhausted the ordeal had left him, he had been too worried about his companion. But now, affected by the major energy drain magic always took from the caster, the toll of the past several days was making itself felt. He never imagined he would be, or even could be, so tired that he couldn't fly for hours, yet here he was, landing clumbsily off shore in water up to his knees and barely avoiding tumbling over as he panted for breath. And that after a flight of less than five miles. With his chest burning from breathing deeply for a long time he managed to make it above the water line, then he had to put the girl down as he collapsed himself.

"H-hold on Sylphiel, please hold on, I need to catch my breath, and it's still very dark out, too..." he whispered to her. And indeed it was. He had no idea where he was, and his greatest fear now was that he couldn't find anyone to even tell him where to get aid for Sylphiel until morning, and by then it might be too late. Oh, what to do?

He clenched his teeth hard against a momentary wave of panic. "Stop it." he ordered himself. "There is no situation so bad that it won't be made worse by panic." he reminded himself.

After a brief rest, and a good swig of water, he searched along the beach for some drift wood. There was enough for him to make a small fire, so he gathered what he could find that seemed dry enough, then piled it up, and with a small fire ball he lit it. He sat watching the flames and feeling the heat as the fire dried them from the wet. He tried to think of what to do, but all he kept coming up with at first was waiting till morning to be able to see. But after a little rest he felt his strength return to some degree, and, inspired by the sparks flying upwards he decided to risk doing the same. He got up, stood a few feet away from the fire, and after chanting, he intoned "Levitation" and took off into the air.

He didn't go far, he was really just trying to see if there was any help near by, a light, anything at all, but, of course, it was pitch black everywhere. Alas, although the moon was out that night, it was not big and full, and the light it did cast was easily swallowed up by the shadows, making blindly stumbling along, holding Sylphiel too dangerous. And, after the "Levetation", he felt even more tired, even a "Lighting" spell seemed out of the question right now.

"Great, just great..." he muttered.

He returned to his lonely watch beside Sylphiel. He wished he could do something, anything, but there was nothing he knew how to do. "Oh gods above and below," he groaned "I guess I deserve my fate, it seems the sort of thing karma would inflict on one who was a sinner in a previous life. But Miss Sylphiel is kind and good, she doesn't deserve this horrible end. Please, if there is any mercy under heaven, help us, spare her life."

He sat a moment in silence, then added "And if you will not listen, then to hell with you..."

For a little while there was nothing. Zel began to sing, hoping the sound of his voice would be able to reach Sylphiel in her sleep, and perhaps cheer her up. He tried to stay away from heavy, angsty songs, hymns, and also from lullabies. He didn't know if she could hear, but he didn't want to risk making the mood darker, or to suggest going to heaven, or even more deeply asleep, she was too close to that already. Instead he went with lighter, more positive songs. He tried songs about happiness, of humour, and even songs from his childhood. He had trouble at first, he couldn't find what he felt was the right song and it made his voice sound so dry and scratchy when he heard it that he didn't get past the first verse of any song.

Then, as if unbidden, a love song of sorts came to his lips. He found that it was fairly easy to sing, so he snuggled down beside Sylphiel and sang it as he stroked her hair. All he could do now was try to comfort her, and hope.

"One look at love and you may see it weaves a web over mystery. All ravelled threads can rend apart, for hope has a place in the lover's heart. Hope has a place in a lover's heart.

Whispering world, a sigh of sighs, the ebb and the flow of the ocean tides. One breath, one word, may end or may start a hope in a place of the lover's heart. Hope has a place in a lover's heart.

Look to love, you may dream, and if it should leave then give it wings. But if such a love is meant to be; Hope is home, and the heart is free.

Under the heavens we journey far, on roads of life we're the wanderers. So let love rise, so let love depart, let hope have a place in the lover's heart. Hope has a place in the lover's heart.

Look to love you may dream, and if it should leave then give it wings. But if such a love is meant to be; Hope is home, and the heart is free.

Hope is home, and the heart is free." (1)

As he finished there was a pause when things seemed a little better, and his friend seemed to breath a little easier. However, the gloom soon returned and Zel started casting about for a new song to sing. Then, in the silence he thought...

He heard something...

He froze, he wasn't sure what he heard. He considered running, but between being tired, having to move Sylphiel, and the fact that his fire had long ago given them away anyway, he decided to stay.

And then there was the off chance it might be help?

Nah, not the way his luck had been going lately...

He waited.

Another moment, and then...

Foot steps...

A man and a woman approached out of the gloom. "Shantal, is that you?" asked the man in a worried voice. The woman said in a voice that was anything but worried, "You are way past your curfew young lady, you are so grounded."

Uh-oh, anxious parents, and here Zel had only been worrying about Beastmaster.

Zel stood up and spoke, his desperation obvious. "Please, please good people, there is no Shantal here, but there is a young woman here who is badly hurt. Please, I beg of you, can you tell me where to find a healer? I don't know if she can wait until morning."

There was silence for a minute as the couple considered the manlike thing before them. Zel was suddenly aware of how he must look. Hopefully the dim light hid his chimeric features, but he was obviously battered and bruised, with no pant legs, dirty, disheveled, and probably looking like something you'd sic on a mazoku...

"I think he's safe." said the man. "Pity..." sighed the woman as they stepped forward into the light.

Zel's eyes bugged out, the man was obviously some kind of priest, and the woman, clad in a fur trimmed garment, wore some of the symbols of a healer! "I got it, I got it!" he said looking skyward. "Okay, I owe you big, just tell me what you want..."

"Huh?" said the man and woman, looking at each other, then at Zel, in puzzlement as they reached the fire.

"I prayed for help." explained Zel. "Looks like someone was listening.."

"Always is." said the man in a surprisingly matter of fact tone, but with a pleasant smile on his face. "The problem comes when people don't accept that sometimes the answer is "No", that's when you get the "God doesn't listen to me" crap. Or else they don't understand that the gods would rather use humans, or the laws of nature they created in the first place, to help humans, rather than intervine directly, so they don't see the answer when it comes, they are too busy waiting for a flash bang miracle that was never meant to be. Can I take it that we fit into that category for you? So, how can we help you? Oh, by the way, my name is Gary, and I'm the local priest of the worshipers of the Golden Lady. This is my wife Anesha, she's a member of the secret order of healers known as "Women Without Ethics", among other things, and we were out looking for our daughter, Shantal. But we can talk about that later, what's up here?"

"Uh, right, my name is Zel, Zelgadiss that is, and this young woman is my friend Sylphiel. I'll tell you everything but right now she's dying, please help her."

By now Anesha had knelt beside the unconcious girl and had enveloped her in a gentle white glow. "I'll say she dying, her brain is bruised and it's swelling, squeezing itself to death against her skull. She's very lucky this happens to be one of the slow kinds of injuries. How long ago did she bang her head? And did she get her other injuries at the same time? Geeze, what did you guys do, fall off a cliff?"

"Uh," said Zel, "actually we did, about, uh, I think it will be five days ago when the sun rises. And yeah, she got all her injuries then, but the head injury wasn't obvious at first, I think it first showed up about three days ago, but I didn't clue in until two days ago. I'm not a healer, she is, but we couldn't use our magic..."

He stopped suddenly, maybe he shouldn't have said that last bit?

Gary's eye cocked up in a puzzled fashion as he glanced at his wife. "Not able to use magic? Fell off of a cliff? My son, there aren't any cliffs around here for a hundred leaques, and even without magic you could have gotten help in other places that would be much closer..."

"No magic, huh?" added Anesha. "Better come clean, if I'm to help I need to know what I'm really up against."

Zel sighed. "There is one cliff that is close by, as I suspect you well know..." he said softly.

Anesha began to softly chant a spell. Gary said "You are right. What by the nine hells were you doing on... her... lair?"

"She has taken a friend of ours, and I was part of a team that tried to get her back, but Zelas attacked us, and Miss Sylphiel and I fell off a cliff and were saved from death only by a great miracle. Only, now it seems that Sylphiel was not meant to take part in that blessing for long." said Zel.

By now Anesha had finished her chant and a white light enveloped Sylphiel. "There." she said."I have encased her in a spell I invented which I call "Stasis", for want of a better word, and for the next little while she is sort of semi suspended in time. We can get her back to our place safely, without her deteriorating any more. We need to get her there because she's so far gone, and I'm very sure that just a "Resurection" spell will not work. But at our house we have a few devices, such as a magic circle, that I can use to boost the power, and Gary has a few healing blessings he can add to the mix. This should get her there safely. Now for the final touch..." Anesha held out her hands and said "Float." Sylphiel did.

Gary held his hand out and said "Follow..." They moved off and the floating Sylphiel did just that, magically she was moved along, following the group. At one point Zel went to touch her, but was warned off by Anesha, lest he disturb the spell. They moved along steadily, but slowly, to make it as easy on the girl as they could.

Then, off to their left at a distance there was a distinct "BANG!" and a sky rocket like burst of light.

All heads turned, and Zel was puzzled as to what was going on. But Gary and Anesha weren't.

"Damn that girl!" muttered Anesha. "She's casting spells upon the moors again..."

"Moors can be dangerous places." agreed Zel.

Gary snickered. "Yep, though if she were out on the moors casting spells we wouldn't worry, but my wife was refering to our neighbours, the Moores. Shantal and their son Thomas had a tiff of some sort and now she's always taking revenge by going over to their place and practicing her magic skills, usually in the form of fireworks and other mostly harmless but very annoying things. She likes to mutter something about giving a guy an even break and ending up broken, or something like that. Oh well, she's at that reblious teenage seventeen year old stage, what to do? But I know she'll get over it soon, her mother will see to that. After all, when it comes to being a rebellious seventeen year old for life, there can be only one, and my beloved Anesha here has the lock on that."

There was a loud "Thwack" as the healer belted the priest upside the head while muttering "Idiot...". It so reminded Zel of Lina and Gourry it was almost scary. He couldn't help but sweat drop.

There was another "Boom!" to their left, followed again by what looked like more fireworks, Roman Candles this time, and Anesha turned to Gary. "You take this lady and her gentleman home, I'm gonna go get that brat while we still have neighbours..." With that she took off at a run, into the darkness, heading towards the sound of the explosions.

Gary sighed. "If you'll come with me, Mr. Zelgadiss." he said, leading the floating girl, and the chimera, up the path.

Soon enough they arrived at a large, comfortable house which was behind a temple. "Ah, here we are." said the priest. He went to the entrance to the basement and opened the doors. Walking down the stairs he lead the floating Sylphiel to the center of the room where there was a table. It had a white cloth draped over it, and nothing else. Sylphiel was carefully floated over the table, and then lowered onto it, still glowing softly. "Now I will set up," announce Gary, "And we will wait Anesha's return."

Zel stood off to one side as Gary grabbed his staff from somewhere. It was a standard enough staff with a large metal ring on the top, and four smaller rings hanging from it, similar to the style that Rezo used. He turned and proceeded to circle sunwise about the room. As he did so a magic circle lit up on the floor. Next he chanted a chant at seven regularly spaced intervals around the circle, and as he did so, at each point a coloured ball of light glowed. Red at the top, then orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and finally violet, or purple. Gary stepped outside the circle and lifted his staff. He brought it down with a distinct tap making the metal rings on the head of the staff ring like bells. The seven balls of light sent beams, first to each other, making a multi coloured seven pointed star inside the circle, then into Sylphiel, reinforcing the white protective glow that bathed her.

"There." said Gary. "We must not enter the circle now or it will be broken, but the magic from my prayers here will help uphold my wife's spell and preserve the young lady a bit longer." He turned to Zel and said "How about something to eat? Or would you like a bath perhaps?"

"Uh, will she be okay?" sadi Zel, looking at Sylphiel.

"Yes, she's as okay for now as she can be, I promise." replied Gary.

With that, Zel let the priest lead him away up some stairs to the interior of the house, and tend to him. But he hoped the healer would hurry and get back.

There was not a hugh amount of warm water available at that hour, so the bath turned out to be a wash in a sink. The priest apologised, and promised a proper one as soon as he could get it organised. After helping Zel to overcome his reluctance to reveal he was a chimera Gary helped him to wash, and tended his wounds as best he could. "You really did fall off a cliff didn't you?" he asked as he surveyed the gouges and scrapes on Zel's back, and what was left of his clothing.

Zel nodded and replied "We climbed down as best we could, but in the end I had to bear the brunt of us jumping onto a gravel slope and sliding a considerable way down. A human would almost certainly have died. For once, I am as grateful as I can be that I am a chimera."

"Ah, but you long to be human again. I can hear the whistfulness in your voice." said Gary. "I wonder, sometimes we have things happen to us for a reason that's not always obvious, have you found that might be so in your life?" he asked.

"Oh yes..." said Zel, wincing as a sore spot was cleaned.

"Sorry..." muttered the priest.

It took awhile, but in the end Zel was rather presentable again. Gary tried to find him some clothes that might fit, in the end Zel was fitted with an acolytes robe. However, he explained he rather liked the loose feel, after the ordeal he had been through the clothing he had left had been digging in and his skin appreciated the looseness. Well, atleast, that was his story and he was sticking to it.

Gary tossed a few sticks onto the fire in the cookstove, and scrounged some eggs, and bread and butter, from the larder. Soon he was able to lay a full plate of scrambled eggs in front of Zel, complete with buttered toast. Zel suddenly remembered what hunger was, and ate everything. Yes, hunger did indeed turn out to be the best sauce, he observed, about the time he was guiltly wondering if he might get a third helping. Now he knew how Lina must feel...

"Uh, your wife will return soon, won't she?" he asked, wondering what could be taking so long. He could only hope Sylphiel was holding on down in the magic circle.

"I'm begining to wonder the same thing..." sighed Gary.

However, their worries were soon settled by the door slamming to the dulcet tones of a young woman loudly protesting "Mother! I am not a little girl! I am too old enough to stay out and go where I want! You and daddy are just so unfair. None of the other girls get such a curfew! I have my rights, you know!"

Anesha replied, only a little less hottly "So do I! And they are still faster and stronger than yours so you know what they say! Might makes Right! Now get in there!"

"Fine! Only let go of my ear!"

"Oh? You want the sleeper hold back on then?"

"N-no...ma'am..."

With that Anesha entered the kitchen, leading a petite young woman by a death grip on her left ear. That had to hurt...

Zel quickly observed the girl, undoubtedly the miscreant Shantal. She stood about five feet tall, had long and flowing chestnut hair with red highlights, and big round eyes, also brown, like her mother's. Gary's eyes were blue. She looked for all the world almost like Lina had when she was that age. And she displayed the same independant spirit, and brazen spunk, that Lina had. Zel gulped. Two Lina Inverses? Truely this was the end of the world. What was the Lord of Nightmares thinking...?

"OOOH! She's just being impossible tonight!" complained Anesha, glaring at Gary. "I don't have anyone like this on my side of the family, this is clearly all your fault!" she accused.

"Likely so..." said Gary calmly. He turned to Zel and said, with a chuckle "We have a fair distribution of guilt in our family, if anything goes right right it's Anesha's doing, if it goes wrong it's all my fault."

"Uh, sounds equitable..." said Zel, sweatdropping, as he hoped this wasn't going to degenterate into an all out family feud. At least not before Sylphiel got saved...

"Oh, a stranger?" said Shantal curiously, looking at Zel. "Ooh! This has just been our week for it hasn't it!" she enthused. "Hey, how'd ya get the stones in your face? And why is your skin blue?" she asked.

"I'ma chimera..." explained Zel.

There was a "Thwack!" as Anesha said "Don't be rude!" to her daughter.

"Right! Mr. Zelgadiss, may I introduce you to my pride, my joy, not to mention my youngest, and most wayward, daughter, and the last child we still have living at home, Shantal."

"I'm honoured." said Zel formally, as he stood up and gave a stiff little bow. Stiff mostly because he was getting his strength back from the eggs and now he could start to feel his own wounds...

"Zel... gadiss???" said Shantal, looking very puzzled.

"Huh?" said Zel.

Anesha growled.

"Oh, err, I'm sorry..." said Shantal with a sweatdrop as she returned his bow of greeting in proper fashion.

"So I take it the young lady is down stairs?" asked Anesha. "I see a glow, you have the circle up and running?"

Gary nodded. "Oh, we have a patient?" asked a suddenly business like Shantal.

"Yep, and I want your help, she's as close to death as I've ever seen."said her mother. "We better get started now."

Okay." said Shantal. She and her mother, suddenly acting like long term friends and collaberators, went to the stairs and went down. Zel and Gary followed. As they went Gary explained. "Shantal is the one who takes after her mom the most, in oh so many ways, but especially her magic ability. However, she didn't take to it at first so she started studying magic later than most. She's made up for it in leaps and bounds and I think it's gone to her head."

"Daddy! I'm just a naturally talented, beautiful sorceress! Get used to it!" drifted up the stairs...

Gary said "Hey?" as Zel almost lost it. Oh no! Two Linas for sure! "Sorry..." he mumbled.

"Well, anyway, someone compared her last month to an infamous sorceress named, uh, Lana Inverted, or something..."

"Sheesh! Lina Inverse!"

"Uh, yeah, that was it..." sweatdropped Gary. As they entered the basement again he went on "Anyway, since then Shantal has been reading up on her new hero and trying to be just like her. She's studying fire magic big time and neglecting her other studies like healing magic, and she's taken on what she likes to call "Lina 'tude"..."

"Sass, you mean." interjected Anesha.

"Is not! You're just being mean and picking on me 'cause you're jealous of me!" responded Shantal hottly.

"Uh, later, after the healing, perhaps?" suggested Gary.

"Oh, right..." both women said.

Gary sighed. "As I was saying, Shantal wants to be like this Lina person, and is trying to convince us she should be allowed to wander the earth, making her way like Lina apparently does."

"It's not as easy as it looks." said Zel.

"Oh, I'll be fine!" insisted Shantal.

"Well, who can say?" said Zel.

"What's that mean?" asked a puzzled Shantal.

"Just that I've been there and done that, and, uh, well, amazingly enough, so has a friend of mine who has some experience with exactly what you are talking about doing, uh, and it looks fine when you are sitting comfortably at home, but when you hit the road it can become different. Do you have what it takes to slay bandits and spook dragons like they say the real Lina Inverse can?" he asked.

"Uh?" said Shantal, rather thoughtfully. So, maybe she hadn't heard everything?

"Well we must get going, I'm ready now" said Anesha, now dressed in her vestments and obviously ready for the ritual. Gary went to a closet and took out robes for himself and Shantal, and retrieved his staff from the corner by the stairs where he had left it earlier.

Zel was seated outside the circle and gently told not to interfere no matter what. He nodded.

Gary went to the far side of the circle, Shantal to the near side, and Anesha took the top, where the red glowing light was.

The participants took a few seconds to collect themselves, then a deep breath each, and then they raised their hands.

Gary spoke a prayer.

"Thou Golden Light which shines upon the darkness,  
and is not confounded by it.  
Thou Giver of Dreams both good and evil, and yet is above, and below, both.  
Thou for whom Chaos and Order are one and the same,  
the Ever Capracious one,  
holding life and death in your hands.

We beseech thee to have mercy upon the one here before us, held in the sacred circle.  
Find not that it is the appointed hour of departure,  
but instead pour your blessing upon her.  
Restore, Recove, and Ressurect this one to wholeness,  
that she might continue to make the journey of life.

This, we pray."

Then Shantal spoke a chant.

"Powers that heal and protect the four worlds,  
Grant into our unworthy hands your blessing and power.  
Let the goods thing we want to do not fail,  
but be brought to perfection."

There was a definite boost in the power levels in the circle. Zel stared keenly at what was going on. Gary's prayer had actually dared to call upon the Lord of Nightmares to be merciful. Were humans allowed to do that? Lina had to hear about this! And Shantal had called upon the four good lords of the four worlds! Without knowing it, she had mimiced Lina's activation of her power amplification talismans by calling upon the four dark lords. What the heck had these people managed to develop here? Now for sure Sylphiel had to recover! She'd want this as much as Lina would want that prayer!

Now it was Anesha's turn.

"Holy healing hands.  
Breath of Mother Earth.  
Kiss of Golden Light,  
Confounder of darkness.

I pray to you, Save this person lying before me,  
With your limitless mercies."

A tiny pause, then

"Golden Resurection!"

Zel barely had time to realise she had cast a modified "Resurection" spell when the white light around Sylphiel suddenly lit up into a blinding golden brilliance. It was so bright that it felt hot.

"S-Sylphiel!" he yelled, suddenly worried the spell had backfired and they had just incinerated her.

"It's okay, this is how the spell works." he heard Gary call back in a calm voice.

A few seconds later the blinding glare settled and went out. Between the loss of the light, and the shock to his eyes of so much brightness Zel was rather blinded for a short time. Someone chanted the spell for "Lighting" and after a minute there was a return of vision.

Zel noted the circle was gone and immeditely went to the table where Sylphiel was lying. "Sylphiel?" he said quietly, hoping she'd wake up on the spot. She didn't but he could tell that she was breathing easily and normally again. And he had been right about the heat too, what had been left of her clothing was now a fine film of ash that quickly flowed off of her, leaving her naked, except for her strategically placed cloak, which had been protected by its own magic.

"She will sleep until she's ready to wake." said Anesha as she joined him. She cast a white glow over the girl and soon said "Everything is now healed. Except of course for her poor little finger which was totally dead when she got here. Alas. There is nothng now that can be done except to remove it before it rots on her and she gets an infection."

Zel nodded. "Give me the means and I will do it now while she is pain free." he said softly.

Anesha smiled. "No, it is my job, the knife needs to be magically charged in order to ensure the wound heals even as it is being cut. Shantal, please get the surgery knife."

There was no answer. They looked at the young girl who was staring at Zel. "D-did you say her name was Sylphiel?" she asked very quietly.

"Uh, yes..." said Zel.

"Sylphiel and Zelgadiss?" she asked, still quietly.

Zel gave a puzzled glance to Anesha as he answered "Uh, yes..." again.

Anesha was also puzzled, and shrugged her shoulders. Gary had already left to get the knife.

"OH MY GODS IT YOU!!!" squealed Shantal, very loudly.

Zel and Anesha both jumped.

"Uh, what?" asked Zel, his heart still tripping along.

Shantal explained "Uh, when I was out the other evening I went to visit my friend Linny Kinns, at the inn where she works as a waitress. We all did, the gang and me, and we were sitting there talking about stuff, and stuff, you know, and this group of people came in. They looked like they had been beat up big time, or something, and they sat down and ordered these really weird drinks. I think they were called "Boiled makers" or something like that, anyway they drank several toasts to some people called "Zelgadiss and Sylphiel". They looked like they had been crying or something. You'd think the people they drank to had died, or... uh..., oh..."

"Yes, that's us. But for the mercy of the gods we would have died too." replied Zel softly.

There was a faint glow suddenly beside him and Sylphiel was floated up again by Anesha. "I want to hear this too." she said. "Shantal, please make some tea and settle Mr. Zelgadiss while your father and I settle Miss Sylphiel here, then we can get the tale in full."

"You bet!" the girl said as she dashed up the stairs. Zel sighed. he was in for a long night. But it seemed Sylphiel would live, that was all that mattered.

Back in the kitchen, he sat down and waited as Shantal fussed over the water, eventually trying to cast a fireball to boil it faster. "Eep!" said Zel as he cast a rapid "Flow Break" to ward off disaster. "Thanks Amelia..." he thought to himself, for it had been the Princess who had taught him that spell.

"Hey!" said the girl.

"I've seen too many fireballs go wrong." said Zel. "Sorry, it's a sort of phobia of mine..."

"An Inversepobia..." he thought to himself.

Shantal put her hands to her hips and "HMPHed" at Zel.

Just then her folks returned to the room. "Is everything okay?" asked Anesha.

"Just having trouble with the water..." said Shantal.

Her mother reached out and cast a gentle spell on the kettle which began to boil vigorously, ad then the tea was made.

Gary smiled at his daughter. "Not every useful spell is fire magic." he said.

Zel spoke to Shantal. "Please tell me more about the people you saw. How many were there?"

Shantal thought for a second. "Uh three women and two men. Both the guys were blond, one was obviously older than the other, and they were both real cute, and the three women were real beautiful, especially the little red head. Drool bait, man! I could totally fall in love with her!" she said.

Anesha just sighed. "Well, if it comes to that, our other kids are working on the grandchildren..." said Gary, giving her a hug.

"Ah, so they all made it away safely, that is a comfort to me." said Zel, genuinely sounding relieved.

"So, who were they?" asked Shantal, ignoring her parents.

"Well, the older blond man is Lord Milgasa." Zel said. "Actually, he's not really a man, he's a golden dragon in his avatar form."

Shantal's eyes popped open at that!

"And the tall blackhaired woman was Lady Ayn, and she's a black dragon.

The eyes went wider.

"The other blond guy is named Gourry Gabrieve and he's a human, a swordsman by trade. He used to be the owner of the Sword of Light, until it was returned to the Overworld, from where it had originally come from."

Now Gary and Anesha opened their eyes.

"And the brown haired woman with the bangs was Luna Inverse."

"Wait!" said Anesha. "Do you mean to tell me that Luna Inverse was here in our little village?" she said, obviously trying to accept something.

"Hey?" said Shantal.

"The Luna Inverse?" Gary asked.

Zel responded matter of factly "If by that you mean the Luna Inverse who is the current Knight of Ceiphied, yes."

Anesha was speechless.

"Who is the redhead?" asked Shantal, curiously.

"Her little sister, Lina." replied Zel.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(1) Meh, so Zel likes Enya, who knew? ^_^ Anyway, the lyrics are from her song "Hope Has a Place", which is track number 7 on her album "The Memory of Trees". 


	23. Chapter 25

The next morning the Slayers assembled over breakfast. There were several pairs of red eyes, but some of the emotional tension seemed to have settled down.

Seemed to...

"I have not been this sad since the time HellMaster kidnapped Gourry and I thought I had lost him." said Lina to her sister. Luna nodded, but said nothing. She seemed, well, moody or something...

Amelia was not to be seen, but, making an appearance that morning were Gavos and Jilas. It didn't take long for them to find out what happened, and after a few words of consolation they left the group. Once they were alone they set to talking.

"I knew this'd happen." said Gavos.

"We told 'em t' be like thieves, didn't we?" added Jilas, getting a nod from Gavos.

They looked at each other. Nothing was said, but they knew what they had to do. They took stock of their meager resources and went out to get what supplies they could. Later that day they set off...

Meanwhile, the palace settled in to a quiet period of mourning for the fallen. Sylphiel's uncle was summoned and given the bad news. He was quiet about it and took it with the proverbial stiff uper lip, but the pain could be seen in his eyes. Still, he had never been as close to Sylphiel as her own family in Sairaag had been, and Lina thought it a shame that she would not be mourned as much as maybe she should be. She noted that Gourry also was sad she was gone but didn't put a lot of emotion into it. Mind you, he had never loved her. In the end Lina could only shake her head at the unwanted thought of poor Sylphiel lying in shreds at the base of Beastmaster's island, with the birds acting as undertakers and showing her more care in their own avian way than the humans were. Somehow it seemed a most unfair end for such a kind person.

Even if she had been an annoying twit at times...

And then there was Zel. Well, at least he was no longer bothered by being a chimera...

Oh gods, that sounded so callous, that wasn't how she meant it. She sighed.

"What's up?" asked Gourry.

"Just mixed up feelings." replied Lina.

Later on,of course, came lunch, and, more from habit than hunger, they were all gathered around the dining table again.

"So what do we do now?" Gourry asked.

There was a pause then Milgasa replied "I recommend we don't go back to the island again, but perhaps we can try to respond to Filia's attacks in the future and capture her then. In the meantime we must work very hard to hone our various skills to be ready for that day. We will doubtlessly have to face Xellos as well."

Ayn nodded. "Where shall we locate?" she asked. "Here in Seirune, or back in Zephilia City?"

"Seirune." said Lina.

"Zephilia." said Luna, at the same time.

"Er, we'll get more information in Seirune." said Lina.

"I get all sorts of information back home." replied Luna.

"Uh, I was also thinking of the libraries here." said Lina.

"You never read your way through all the books at the magic school back home, Lina, and there have been several new additions since you left. We go home. And I can get us in to see the libraries of Her Royal Highness The Eternal Queen. Besides, mom and dad are waiting, and I gotta get back to work. And then there are the aphids in my roses." explained Luna.

"Well, okay, but I have read most of the books in Zefilia and those I haven't read aren't relevant. I need to use this library as well. What if you go and I follow later?" said Lina.

"No. Come home now and see mom and dad, and what you can find at the local library, then maybe go back later." said Luna, starting to sound annoyed.

"Oh please don't be upset Luna, but I really think we'd do better to stay, just like Prince Phil said..." Lina said, cringing slightly.

There was a slap as Luna hit the table next to Lina. "Will you stop arguing? Prince Phil is a nice guy, and I believe he was sincere, but I also think he was in daddy mode and though he didn't particularly mean to he was never the less looking for a baby sitter for his daughter while she mourns. We go home, we have other issues to deal with. And that is that."

"Luna!" said Ayn with a firm tone of voice.

Luna seemed to soften a bit and turned to Lina and added "I don't mean we go today. You can take today and have a good cry with the Princess, but we should get going tommorrow. And we can come back later, like I said."

Lina cowered a bit but said "I really want to see what's in the library here first. Please Luna, I'm not trying to delay going home, I want to see mommy amd daddy too, but I really think I should spend a few days here first, then go home. Why don't you go now and Gourry and I will follow?"

"NO!" shouted Luna, slamming both hands on the table and rising to her feet. She was clearly angry now, maybe even furious. "I just made a bad decision because I was stupid enough to not follow my gut and let other people influence me, well meaning as they were. It's not your fault, it's mine for not listening to my own instincts. But I won't make that mistake again. Get it through your head we leave tommorrow morning if I have to drag you there all the way by your hair, and stop arguing with me Lina." she said, almost shouting.

Then she crossed her arms, and got personal. "I have had it to here with you Lina. You've always argued with me since we were little, and you always have to have your own way, or get even with me if you don't get it. You are a woman now, and you have responsibilities. You have to take care of the man you married, and the babies I know you want one day. Start acting like you are growing up. This business with Filia is serious and we cannot be separated. I said we could come back later, three times now, and that there were resources to use at home, but here you are arguing about it. Stop being the runty little plain girl everyone says you are. Do you have any idea how embarassing you are?"

Lina had by now cringed to the floor. Indeed she seemed to be cowering against an expected slap or punch. Or worse. Gourry rose and gathered her in his arms in a protective embrace. "Leave Lina alone." he commanded, looking mad enough to fight.

"I second that." said Ayn, also on her feet and looking ready to take on her Mistress on as well.

Luna shook with rage. She seemed about to say something, then seemed to think the better of it. She grabbed a cup off the table and sent it smashing to the floor, then she gave a little scream and stormed out of the dining room.

Lina vibrated for several seconds, then said in a very upset and hurt voice "I knew this was going to happen, why can't I just learn to fucking shut up? I always get her upset and ruin everything! And after I thought we might actually make it this time, too. I'm so stupid!" She burst out crying and ran off with Gourry running after her, trying to convince her she did nothing wrong, to no avail.

Ayn gave a little scream of her own and sat down again, burying her face in her hands. "Why did I take this job? Why?" she asked.

Milgasa sighed and patted her shoulder in a sympathetic gesture. "Humans..." he commiserated.

"Uh, what happens now?" said Lemmy, who had been there all along, but who didn't know what to do or say when the fight erupted.

"It's okay." sighed Ayn. "Ultimately this wasn't a fight so much as a terribly misguided release of grief and guilt. Luna likes to call Lina by the name "Dramata" sometimes because of the way she over reacts to things, but really, Luna needs to remember that when she points a finger at Lina she has three pointing back at herself. But it has set them back to square one again, damn the luck. And just when we need unity in our ranks too." she explained.

"I, uh, get the idea they have been at this all their lives?" Lemmy asked.

Ayn nodded. "I think so, but I also think Lina used to be more self assertive and stood up for herself better in the old days. I don't know how, but Luna's cowed her and broken Lina's spirit. Well, I should be careful here, it's broken when she's around Luna, but Lina is certainly alright when she's by herself. The real puzzle is Luna, there's something deep in her that's eating her up, and has been for a long, long time now, but she will never let it out. I hope it doesn't destroy her in the end. Despite what you just saw here, she's really actually a very wonderful person, most of the time."

"Ya, somehow I thought so." smiled Lemmy.

Milgasa chuckled. "Well, Luna's off walking her rage off, Lina's gone back to bed to cry her fears away, so that leave us with a free day. Lady Ayn, you could use some stress relief I am willing to bet, would you care to accompany me to the meditation garden?"

"Ah, you just want to get me alone in the garden, don't you?" Ayn said. But she couldn't hold off smirking.

"Maybe..." replied Milgasa, smirking as well.

"Would you care to join us, Miss Lemmy?" said Ayn, finding a way to say yes, without saying "yes".

Now it was Lemmy's turn to smirk. "Well, I'm always up for inner peace, but right now I gotta get Jack repolished and resharpened, so, thanks but no thanks, if you'll excuse me."

In short order the table was emptied of people, and avatars...

And it stayed that way through supper too, which was a surprise to many in the castle. The heros weren't hungry?

Especially Lina???

The situation was rectified soon enough with a sudden scurrying of many feet. An important message had come to the castle and the Slayers were wanted! Soon they were assembled in the main hall, Lemmy included, and even Amelia made a showing this time, standing beside her father and his generals. She was dressed, not in mourning, but in her usual white casual clothes. But there was no denying her red eyes. "Get your adventuring garb, everyone." she called out as they entered. "We have trouble!"

"What's up? asked an equally red eyed Lina on behalf of the group.

Prince Phil spoke up. "We have a report that two large bands of dragons are fighting about thirty miles east of this city. The report is scanty and refers mostly to the destruction the battle is working on the local human population of a nearby small city. The reporter does state that he thinks it is gold versus black dragons..." he concluded, giving Ayn and Milgasa a look.

Milgasa turned to Ayn and said "I am with you, Lady Ayn, against this madness."

"I know." said Ayn, sounding grateful. "You and I are friends regardless of whatever madness our clans fall prey to."

"This time, I'm coming." said Amelia as she walked up to the group. "You might still need a healer."

"Welcome back." said Lina, softly. "We are all so sorry..." she added.

Amelia managed to smile back. "I'm sorry too. I had that premonition, if only I could have gotten Zel to listen."

"We should go now..." said Luna. With that they departed.

The dragons flew through the gathering gloom as the evening deepened. Thirty miles wan't a hugh distance for them, even when they were being lazy, which wasn't tonight, but it still took some time, and the question was how much light there would be to act with when they got there.

As they approached they saw they didn't need to worry about that, the countryside was burning...

"Um, will this come to swordplay? I still don't have Jack back" asked Lemmy. It was hard to say if she was nervous, or excited.

"Dragon scales are as hard as the best armour." replied Luna. "If you don't have a magic sword then slashing won't do, you need to stab them deep, through the chinks where the scales over lay each other." she explained. She pointed to the scales on Ayn. "Here, and here, see?" she asked.

Ayn sighed. She hated to have Luna give a lesson on how to wound or kill a dragon, but what choice did they have?

The swordswoman nodded. "I see, yes, it makes sense. Okay, an Estoc (1) perhaps?" she asked.

Luna smiled. "Should be about right. But be careful, an angry dragon can melt the hardest steel, and you don't have any armour on at all."

"Ah, I can move pretty quick!" boasted Lemmy, as if discussing a race at a picnic.

"I'm sure you can." replied Luna. "Problem is, so can the dragons. Up to you, but you might do better dropping all your swords and knives except the one you want to use and go in as light as possible"

Lemmy nodded. "I don't like it, and I'm usually okay with all my best buds on my belt, but I'll think about it when I see what we face. Anyway, this is Pierre..." she said, pulling a four foot long, two handed estoc out of it's sheath. "Ah, Pierre, my friend, we have work to do..."

She gave him a friendly, uh, lick....

A few minutes later and the dragons touched down about a mile away from a great battle. That it was a great battle had been obvious from many miles away and it only got worse as they came closer. It didn't occur to anyone to worry until they touched down that Ayn or Milgasa, being as they were both in dragon form, might have been thought the enemy by someone on the other side...

"Well, that was closer than we realised then..." said a relieved Ayn when she realised how close it might have been.

"I recommend you two go avatar for now." said Luna, as she prepared to transform. "It will at least show you are not on one side or the other."

"I don't know if that'll be much help, but I'll give it a try..." replied a doubtful Ayn, as she too went to change.

"Worth a try?" said Milgasa.

A few seconds later there was what appeared to be a group of humans preparing to do battle, or something, with two large milling, crashing, clashing masses of dragons. Lemmy gulped. "I'm uh, more the assasin type, not a warrior, any tips?" she whispered to Gourry as she gripped her Estoc.

"Relax, have fun, and don't drop your sword, whatever you do." he replied. "Oh, and in battle, no one will notice if you scream like a girl..."

"Thanks, I think..." said a thoroughly confused Lemmy.

"So, what now?" asked Lina, looking to Luna, nervously. Not because of the battle...

"Wait a minute, it's coming to us." her sister observed.

Which indeed it was. A disorganised mass of dragons on the ground was busy with its memebers wrestling, biting, burning, clawing, and otherwise engaged in ripping each other to fatally little pieces, while in the air the same thing was happening, only in flight. and the whole thing was slowly moving towards the gang.

Luna looked around. "Let me just find the poor excuses for leaders..." she muttered.

"Over there!" said Milgasa,a little excitedly, as he pointed out two fighting dragons, one golden, one black at the center of the action. That they were hell bent on killing each other was obvious, the thing that pointed them out as the leaders was their central location and the way other dragons were trying to defend them.

"Right, let's do this." said Luna with a grim expression.

"Er, can we know what to do?" asked Lina.

Luna nodded and turned to Lina. "Ayn, Milgasa, and Lemmy with me as we plow into this and get to the leaders, you, Gourry, and Princess Amelia stand by here. And by all the gods, sis, all of them at once, please have the best Dragon Slave you ever cast in your life ready to go. I don't mind admitting that this is actually one of the more dangerous thing I've ever even thought of attempting in my life, and I may need a back up..."

"Wouldn't it work better if Miss, er, sorry, if Lina went first, with the Dragon Slave, I mean, to get their attention or something?" asked a nervous sounding Amelia.

"I never thought I'd ever say this about...that...spell, but I agree with Her Majesty in this..." said Ayn.

"Up to Lady Luna, but I won't nay say that either." added Milgasa.

Lina cringed, remembering what had happened this past morning with what she had thought was a harmless suggestion.

"I'm shocking myself by saying this, but please?" added Lemmy, with a cringe.

Luna paused for a few seconds. Then she sighed. "I conceed..." she said. "Go, for it sis."

Lina gulped. "O-okay..."

The others stood back and Lina composed herself. A pinkish light began to swirl around her, with little golden sparkles.

"You, who are darker than twilight,  
You, who are more crimson than flowing blood,  
You, who are buried in passing time. In your name, the Great One,  
I pledge myself to darkness, That to those fools who stand in our way,  
You and I together will give ruin and no one can escape from us" (2)

By now she was glowing pink, and the brightness was like the light from a beacon. She opened her eyes to aim.

And saw the entire hoard of dragons staring at her in shock, their fear naked on their lizard like faces, and stunned to silence by the imminence of dragon death...

"Just hold it like that for a sec sis!" shouted Luna as she lept in front of Lina.

"Hurry, I can't keep it like this long, it's launch it or lose it..." grunted Lina in reply.

"I'm Luna Inverse! Surrender right now, all of you, or I'll let my sister, the world's most beautiful, intelligent, fearsome, reckless, and spooky, sorcery genius launch her Dragon Slave. And if there are any survivors, you get to deal with me afterwards." Luna yelled out to the massed dragons.

In an instant every dragon was flat on his face before Luna. "W-we surrender!" said one of them."

Luna turned to Lina who was struggling to maintain the spell. "Let it go this time, please Lina, I promise that if there should be a next time from this lot you can launch..."

Lina nodded and concentrated. Soon the spell deflated and dissappeared harmlessly. "Whew, that's harder than it looks, ya know..." she muttered. Gourry came and supported her.

"Want a "Recovery"?" asked Amelia, looking concerned.

Lina smiled. "Thanks, but I'm okay." she said as she straightened up again.

"We gotta remember this drill..." said Ayn sounding impressed.

Luna strode forward. "Come on everyone." she said to the gang. They all followed her.

"Which fools think they are in charge here?" she demanded of the dragons. The hoard parted, revealing two individuals. Luna had been right, they were the same two that had been going at it tooth and nail, literally in this case, just before the Dragon Slave. The way they cowered and clung to each other you'd think they were anything but mortal enemies...

Luna strode right up to them in a nasty "hoe dare you annoy me" way that said "I'm here now, be afraid, be very afraid..." The dragons were...

"So, I don't even want to know what this is about, got it?" she snarled at them. "You idiots get this straight. When you have a conflict, fighting only makes it worse. You peace for peace, you don't fight for peace. If the dragon races can't figure out how to settle their issues peacefully then they are lower than the Mazoku and why am I wasting my time on you lot? I might as well take the pledge to Lady BeastMaster, or one of the others. And take Lina with me. Now, have the guts to go home and become agents of change within your society. Get out of here!"

Ayn looked at Luna and heard her words. She was impressed at their wisdom, but she couldn't help remembering the scene from earlier that morning. But now was not under any circumstances the time to say anything. Perhaps later though?

Luna and the rest watched as the dragons wordlessly separated into their two clans, and flew off in different directions.

"Wow..." said Lemmy. "You can do that without fighting? I never knew..."

"Yes! It can be done. You just have to believe in the power of Justice!" enthused Amelia, starting what promised to be a long speech.

"Princess Amelia, HUSH." commanded Luna sharply. The whole gang fell silent and cringed instinctively. Luna's will was not easily stood up to.

Ayn explained. "We got lucky, those weren't organised armies, they were more like two street gangs having a rumble."

Milgasa nodded and added "Two armies would have dropped their differences and charged us, justice or not. But just because we ran into punks here doesn't mean that the armies don't exist. It just takes time to mobilise. We haven't seen anything near the worst yet, I'm afraid. I just hope they choose battle fields away from humans."

"Yes." said a now quiet Luna. "This battle frightened the people of the city over there, and destroyed a lot of food crops, but the people were basically safe for all that I think. If we ever have to take on real troops or have a major battle to deal with I won't be able to be so merciful. Take that as fair warning. I have limits to my power, and I cannot end this war for the dragons. As long as people, elves, or other innocent creatures are not at risk I simply haven't the resources to interfere in this. That grieves me, but it is also reality, I'm sorry."

Ayn's response was to suddenly hug Luna. "That's all that could be expected of the Knight, and more than fair. Thank you, Lady Luna." she said.

"Lets get changed..." smiled Luna. "So ya think they have supper in the city?"

There was a tension relieveing chuckle. "I think they can spot us a meal." said Amelia. "And I better give them a speech of some sort, it'll be expected, and so tension relieving for them too." she added.

"Uh, yeah..." said Luna, hoping her sweatdrop went unoticed...

There was some quick changing on her part, the dragons already being avatars. The group started towards the little city.

Luna suddenly stopped. "Lina?" she said. Her sister turned to face her. Luna went on. "I'm sorry about this morning, you were right, but I wasn't prepared to hear it. But I realise now we wouldn't have made it here in time if we had had to come from Zephilia, it's too far from the center. Seems I can make bad decision whether I'm being swayed by people, or all on my own..."

"I-I'm sorry too Luna, I never meant to stand up to you..." said a quiet Lina.

"Well, maybe you should..." said Luna. "Anyway, here's the deal, we will stay in Seirune as much as we can. It's centeraly located for most of our world. But if you want to go anywhere else, you just say the word and we will be off. I still think we must stay together in case action is needed, other than that, I shouldn't do all the leading. Please, please don't let my evil undo all the hard work we've been making on this trip..." She seemed to be teary eyed as she reached her hands out to her sister.

Lina immediately took them and, with no doubt at all about her eyes being teary she said "Luna, I'm sorry too, this is so hard for us both, and I agree, we must keep trying."

Thus it was that the two sisters walked into the city hand in hand, to the relief of Ayn, never mind the others...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(1) An Estoc was a special kind of sword made to pierce plate armour. It was usually about four feet long, including the two handed handle, and for a blade it had a square rod that was pointed at the end. There was no sharp blade, but that wasn't that helpful against plate armour anyway. The main idea was to beat the enemy down with it, then ram the point through a weak spot.

(2) In case I failed to mention it earlier, I am getting my chants from the magic spell dictionary on QP/Diana's Slayers page, beyond all doubt one of the best Slayers sites ever, and home of much hard to find information about the Slayers. If you're a fan who hasn't found this treasure yet, please Google it and go! 


	24. Chapter 26

The next morning Zel had a splitting headache. The last several days had been hard on him, and the final straw had been the team effort it had taken to get Shantal off of the ceiling after she had been told Lina had been right in front of her.

Literally. She was a mage in training after all...

"Lina the second for sure..." he sighed.

After begging off all breakfast, except for a cup of tea, he had asked, and been allowed, to keep a vigil at Sylphiel's side while she slept on. He was happy that she was obviously better, but he hoped she would wake up soon. He wanted to be there when she awoke so she would not be frightened.

So he wouldn't be frightened either.

He gave a slight smile as he realized that sitting in the sick room was also his best way to keep Shantal and her endless questions at bay. He had a funny feeling that he'd have a vastly larger audience to speak to next time as the young woman had declared her intention to have all her friends over to meet Zel.

"Gawk at, most likely..." he thought to himself.

"Sometimes I feel like a freak on a leash." he said quietly.

He looked at Sylphiel. She was lying in a comfortable bed, with white sheets and a tan coloured blanket. A fluffy white pillow supported her head. Her sleeping face bore a peaceful expression, and was framed very prettily by her luxurious, shiny black hair. Something tugged hard at Zel's heart, and it wasn't his worry for her.

"You are so beautiful, Miss Sylphiel." he murmered. "Won't you wake up and let me see your perfect green eyes?"

Sylphiel slept on.

Zel's gaze drifted down to her left hand, which was propped on a white pillow of its own. There was a clean, white bandage wrapped around it. Anesha had explained that the wound was healed, the bandage was to spare the young woman the shock of seeing her mutilated hand until she was ready to take the bandage off...

"Good idea." he sighed.

He sat silently beside Sylphiel. Well, silent to the outer world, perhaps, but his mind continued to work. He pondered the events of the past several days. He quickly realised that the escape was a lucky thing and wondered what that could mean. He had a suspicion that the Mazoku lords were up to something, and that it couldn't be good, but what? Well, short of going and asking there was probably no way to tell. But the fact that they sent no one to search the island to look for Sylphiel and him could mean they were getting too cocky. And he remembered how that had lead to the downfall of both Gaav and Phibrizo, and perhaps even that piece of Shabradnigdo they had destroyed...

Shabradnigdo...

Something was tugging at Zel's mind, something important, but it just wasn't surfacing yet. Oooh, how he hated it when that happened...

Sylphiel gave a little sigh in her sleep and drew Zel's attention back to her. Zel looked at her and again felt a strong feeling of...

Well, what was he feeling, anyway? Worry? He quickly realised that she was in the best care possible, so it wasn't that. Fear? Again, he knew she was no longer in danger of dying, so, it wasn't that...

He realised that if it had been Amelia lying there he'd be up and about, putting up with Shantal, maybe even testing her to see just how Lina like she really was. But not with Sylphiel. He needed to be here with her...

No, he needed her...

Zel sat back, looking stunned. Had Sylphiel done what Amelia couldn't? Had she...

Well...

Gotten in...?

After only a few days on a cliff face? That's what it took for Zel to fall in love?

No, no...

He had known her for years. Indeed, he had been in Seirune so much that he had seen much more of her than Lina ever had. At first she had seemed a proper twit, the way she was so infatuated with "Gourry dear". But as he had gotten to know her he had come to realise that she was a beautiful person underneath it all, and well, as for Gourry, he had saved her city and she had been drawn to him perhaps in a fit of hero worship. And let's face it, unlike Zel, Gourry was handsome. As handsome as Lina was beautiful, uh, but you didn't hear that from him, okay? Anyway, if there was one thing Gourry and Lina were never going to have to worry about, it was ugly children.

But that was a digression...

He sighed and smiled at that. Then he returned his thoughts to Sylphiel. He felt afraid. Afraid? Afraid, yes, afraid, afraid of being honest, to be honest. But, here was a beautiful young woman, demure, well mannered and polite, the sort of woman many men would fall for instantly. If he hadn't felt so self concious he'd have done the same. As it was, he seemed to have done it anyway, it was just that it took him a bit longer to realise that. She had her human weaknesses, who didn't, but despite appearing silly at times she was obviously very smart. In her own special field of white magic she was atleast as strong as Lina was in black, which was certainly saying a lot, and she had been studying some of the magic Lina used, to the point she was able to use the "Flare Arrow", now that she had let go of her carrot fetish, and the "Dragon Slave" perhaps almost as well as Lina could, which was also saying a lot. So, Sylphiel was demure and soft, but willing and able to defend herself or those close to her in a pinch. And, as she had proven on the cliff, she was willing to sacrifice even her life for others if need be...

The living embodiment of an iron fist in a velvet glove, if ever there was one.

Yes, there was much to admire, and even love, about the girl in the bed before him. Zel realised it wasn't the crisis on the cliff that made him love her, it was the crisis that made it impossible for him to hide from what was already there. Now he understood why poor Amelia had never had a chance.

"I should have realised this years ago..." he sighed to himself.

But, now that he knew his heart, what to do about it? The same objections remained, he was a cursed, ugly, and sterile chimera. He might want her, but he had no right to tell her, or ask for her hand. How could he even think about it? He should not do what he was not able to. A dark, blue mood settled over Zel, adding to the pain from his headache...

Then his subconcious kicked in and spit out what had been bothering him about Shabradnigdo.

"How the hell...?" he said, standing up. Amazingly, his headache vanished. Anesha? She might know! He left the room quickly.

As he left he practically stumbled over Shantal. Sheesh. She was apparently putting clean linen away in the closet at the end of the hall, but Zel suspected that to be a ruse so she could be near someone who had been close to her idol.

Kids...

"Um, s-so how are things, Mr. Zelgadiss? Is she awake now?" the girl asked, seeming a tad too polite. Perhaps Anesha had "spoken" to her? Most likely, probably for atleast three rounds...

"No, she hasn't wakened yet, alas." replied Zel. "Miss Shantal, please help me find your mother, I have something urgent to ask her."

"Oh..." replied Shatal, seeming a bit disappointed, pouty even, that Zel was going to rush off.

"Look, help me now and I'll answer some of your questions a bit later, I promise." Zel bargained.

Shantal brightened. "Oh! I do believe she's weeding in the garden. Follow me!" she said, helpfully leading the way. Perhaps too helpfully? She certainly had the promise of becoming a hard bargainer, just like Lina.

Sure enough, the girl's mother was in the garden, bent over, weeding. There was a lot of motherly cussing going on, most of it centered on the apparent impossibility of inventing a weeding spell, thus nessessitating the job be done manually...

"Mommy!" announce Shantal. "Mr. Zelgadiss wants to ask you something."

Anesha straightened up with a little groan, holding her sore back. "Sure." she smiled, though whether to be friendly or out of gratitude that there was a break in her routine was hard to say.

"Um..." started Zel. "How knowlegable are you about the Mazoku?" he asked.

"Well, I'm no doctorate, but I know some things. Have to, living here in the shadow of the island." she replied. "Why?"

"Ever hear of one of them being able to call up the power of another Mazoku?" he asked.

"Uh, no..." said Anesha puzzled.

"Well, I think last night I told you Beastmaster knocked us out of the sky with a magic spell." he said.

Anesha and Shantal nodded.

"It occured to me that I forgot to mention it was the Dragon Slave."

"Wow! She used Lina's spell?" exclaimed Shantal, happily.

"Couldn't have, that should have killed her." replied Anesha, puzzled.

"I've been with Lina enough to know what the chant is, and what it looks like when cast. If she didn't use it then she has a spell of her own that mimics it exactly to the point where she can chant the spell." said Zel.

"Well, now that's a worry and a puzzle." said Anesha after a moment's reflection. "but maybe we were misinformed? Maybe there are certain conditions where a Mazoku, atleast a high one, can use anothers power?"

Zel pondered. "I don't know, Lina reported that Hellmaster told her the Mazoku couldn't draw on any power but their own, or they would basically commit suicide by admitting they weren't confident in themselves." he said. "Of course, at the time, they were talking about why the Mazoku couldn't call upon the Lord of Nightmares."

"Hmmm, and the Dragon Slave comes from Sabradnigdo, as did the Mazoku High Lords..." puzzled Anesha.

"Oooo, the Dragon Slave? I wanna learnit, I wanna learnit!" said Shantal, very eagerly...

There was a crack as Anesha flicked her finger against the girl's skull. "Mr. and Mrs. Moore have enough to deal with already." she chided.

"You never let me do anything!" said Shantal testily.

Anesha seemed to have a sharp reply ready, then stopped, and smiled.

Not pleasantly either.

"Oh? Well, I must rectify that fault right now then..." she smirked.

"Yay!" shouted an enthusiastic Shantal. Then her reasoning power caught up with her.

"Wait, how did you mean that?" she quavered.

Anesha indicated the garden with a broad sweep of her hand. "I'm going to share with you, daughter dearest. You may do something now. You may finish weeding the garden for me."

Zel was amazed how, in the ensuing tussle, they managed to step over the rows of plants and not ruin the garden.

In the end Anesha won...

As they stepped into the house to get a drink, and to get away from the loud protestations of teenage injustice, Anesha confided in Zel. "I hope my strength holds out until she gets older and over this phase. she's actually stronger than I am, but doesn't know it yet. Thankfully, I've had more years to practice and I can use my skill against her strength, but it won't last forever..."

"You need a Luna." repled Zelgadiss.

Anesha gave Zel a puzzled look, and Zel went on to explain how Shantal was nearly like Lina in terms of her "explosive" personality, except that Lina had always been held in check by her bigger sister, Luna. Anesha laughed at that. "Alas, I never birthed any Lunas." she chortled. "I guess it's all up to me..."

Then a change of subject. "How was Miss Sylphiel when you left?" she asked.

"Asleep still." replied Zel. He gave a little sigh.

"And how are you?" she asked.

"Recovering..." said Zel.

Anesha smiled. "You have special feelings for her don't you?"

Zel blinked and looked puzzled. "I, uh, is it that obvious? But I've only just realised it myself a few minutes ago, though I must have had those feelings for years. But how anyone could return the love a chimera is beyond me."

"Oooo, love is it?" teased Anesha. Zel blushed a lovely shade of dark powder blue, he hadn't meant to say that...

"I, I guess, no, I'll be honest. Yes. It is yes. But it shouldn't be. I have, well, I wasn't born a chimera, I have, um, issues..."

"I expect so. Care to talk about them? It might help. By the way, so far as I know, no one is born a chimera, something to do with their being sterile." replied Anesha in a kindly voice.

Zel was silent for a bit as he debated that. Normally, he didn't like to open up to people, for one thing, he didn't like being that vulnerable, and for another, he didn't like to bother people with his burdens either. But, there was something about Anesha that made him feel, well, maybe just this once, he could. And yes, it would be good to talk about it. Finally, and with a bit of hesitation in his voice, he addressed the patient woman sitting beside him.

"Yes, and, well, that would be one issue right there. I'm sure Miss Sylphiel would want a baby sometime, and I just can't give her one. And another issue is my cure, I won't be able to settle down and have anything vaguely resembling a normal life until I get one." He sighed. "And my appearance, of couse, I find it quite freakish. I can't see how anyone could be attracted to me beyond the level of a sideshow amusement, though she, and another girl I know, both say they don't mind it at all. And then there is the fact I didn't ask to become a chimera, my grandfather tricked me into accepting his casting a spell on me to help me become both a stronger swordsman, and a stronger magic user."

Anesha nodded and sipped her tea as she listened. "Your grandfather must have been a powerful magician if he could perform that." she said.

Zel sighed. "Rezo the Red Priest..." he said quietly.

Anesha's eyes went wide as she stared in wonder, not sure what to say to that.

Zel went on. "I know he was one of the five sages, and everyone thought him a good man, indeed he did do a lot of good, and I don't want to shatter any images you have, but I cannot lie. He was, perhaps in the end, not evil, but certainly he was corrupted. I have no definitive proof, but I have no doubt that he was the instigator of the murder of my parents, because they opposed him. That was why I was so anxious about getting stronger and faster when he found me practicing that day. I hadn't realised his part in their deaths yet, or I would have run him through with my sword rather than let him offer to help me, with the result you now see. And he also put a mind control spell on me, though that wasn't apparent at first, I might add. I had to do his twisted bidding for a long time before I could get free. But, I can't say it was all his fault. He was driven from birth to want to find a cure for his blindness, and it ate away at him until he was consumed by it. And how could he not be? He was blind because his eyes were the home of a monster."

"A-A monster?" asked Anesha quietly.

Zel nodded. "One seventh of a monster, to be more accurate." he said. "Rezo was host from birth to a piece of Lord Ruby Eyed Shabradnigdo."

Anesha's tea cup hit the floor.

Zel went on. "Fate is funny. Just as he was about to put his plan to ressurect Shabradnigdo back to life, and get his sight, who should come along but a fifteen year old bandit killing Lina Inverse? We had tracked the final piece we needed down to a bandit lair, and had put an agent inside to steal it. Just before he could, she did. We started off as enemies, Lina and I did, just don't ask for details. Long story short, I was able to break the spell, free Lina from the captivity we had her in, and rescue her. We worked together to try and stop Rezo from getting the piece, but he did. And he resurected Shabradnigdo. It somehow came down to Lina, the swordsman Gourry Gabrieve, who at the time possessed the Sword of Light, and me, to stop him. It was a close thing, but in the end we did."

"S-sword of L-light???" stuttered Anesha. "Then he was a decendant of Rowdy? From the Elemika Gabrieves?" she asked.

Zel nodded.

"H-how did you stop Shabradnigdo?" she asked, going from amazement to amazement.

Zel simply said "Giga Slave."

Anesha stood up, fear on her face. "You know that spell?" she practically shrieked.

"No, Lina does. I don't want to." Zel said.

Anesha sat down. "Gods above and below, this is like being trapped in some sort of a third rate work of fiction. Living legends, magic swords, forbidden spells..."

Zel smiled. "Yep. But it's true. And that's the basis of my feeling unloveable." he said, returning the converation to it's original topic.

Anesha nodded, then shook her head. "Okay, I can say some things, but in the end you have to work this out for yourself. But do listen. Your biggest problem is that life has handed you some lemons and you can't get past how sour they are."

Zel nodded. "I should be making lemonade, I know."

Anesha chuckled. "Actually I had in mind a nice lemon meringue pie, they are ever so much sweeter, and creamy! I tell you, mmm, mmm! Hell! that inspires me! I'm going to make one for supper, and you are going to have a piece, so there!"

Zel laughed. "Okay, you can twist my arm there." he said.

Anesha smiled."Look. You told how fate operated for Lina just now, do you think you are immune? It's possible that you are this way for a reason. You might have something to do and until you do it you won't be able to find your cure. But that doesn't mean you can't have a life. You are the only one holding you back there."

"Let me tell you something, you men have a hard time not idealising us women and putting us on pedestals, but we really are quite clever, and fully capable creatures, you know. If you find a woman who wants to love you, she will, and moaning about how she shouldn't, isn't going to stop anything. Listen, it's her decision, not yours, you have to decide if you want to receive her love, and love her back or not. And if she wants to love you she won't care how you look, or rather, she'll already have taken that in to consideration. And the same with the issue of there being no babies, as long as you have honestly told her upfront."

"Look at me. I see a plain woman in the mirror, and I have ever since I was little. But my husband finds me beautiful. It took me a long time to truely understand the old saying about beauty being in the eyes of the beholder. But it is true. He finds me beautiful. It simply is the truth. And that makes me feel wonderful."

"And it is the same for me. Yes, I realise Gary has a bit of a pot, and he isn't particularly well muscled, not like the wrestlers I adored as a child, and still like sneeking a peek at, with their hard bodies and bulky arms. But when I look into his eyes, I see a soul smiling back at me, one that loves me, and that's something I won't find in the eyes of those wrestlers. And then there is his dedication to duty, his family, and our faith. Plus his skills, and even his sense of humour match mine so well that he has become a part of me in a very litteral way. Appearance isn't everything, and I found that even his little quirks grew on me after awhile. Don't sell yourself short, Mr. Zelgadiss, because of your looks. You are handsome, for all that you're a chimera. Really, the word you want when describing yourself isn't ugly, it is exotic."

Zel was quiet as he took this all in. "I have been somewhat guilty of thinking like that." he said finally. "I think that in part at least it was an unwillingness to hope. And there have been girls..."

He stopped for a minute. "In fact, when I get back I have one who's heart I must break when I tell her I can't accept her love..." he said quietly.

Anesha gave him a tender look and reached over to lay a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "It won't be easy, but it is nessessary. Remember that, it may help you find the strength." she said. Then she want on "One thing to remember, the old saying is true, "Faint heart never won fair lady". I excpect you to tell Miss sylphiel how you feel, okay?"

Zel nodded. "It won't be easy, but I promise." he replied. "Speaking of whom, I have a lot to ponder, and I want to get back to her. I must think about the Dragon Slave puzzle too, so, if you will pardon me, I will return to my vigil."

Anesha chuckled, and sent him on his way.

Zel resumed his seat by the stricken girl. He shook his head sadly. What if she never woke up?

Even though she was asleep, he decided to talk. "Sylphiel, this has been a life changing adventure, you know that? It has opened my eyes to many things, like the fact that I have a real heart, not the one of stone I have always pretended to have. Well, I've just had a heart to heart, as it were, with our new friend Anesha. I think you'll like her when you wake up, she's a healer too, and a great one, just like you are."

"Anyway, she's helped me to accept a little bit that I'm a human in a chimera's skin, something you were trying to tell me, and, well, It's finally starting to take. The truth is I've had feelings for you for a long time, maybe since I first met you, but what with "Gourry Dear", and my own insecurities, I never let myself feel them. But almost losing you has brought a lot of things to the fore. Like the fact that you are the kind of woman who I would be honoured to spend my life making happy. Like I don't know what I'd do if I had lost you."

He reached over and took her right hand. He stroked it gently, marveling in the perfection of her skin. He smiled. "I have this foolish notion this would be easier if I were a human." he said. "Anesha says to tell you my feelings. Of course, she meant when you are awake, but I'll do it now while you sleep for practice. I hope I find the courage later. I may be a chimera, but it doesn't make everything easy."

"I've come to realise something, Sylphiel." he said, gazing at the sleeping girl in the bed. "I realise now that I love you, and I want to ask if you will, even though I'm still a chimera, will you marry me?"

"Yes." said Sylphiel softly, squeezing his hand... 


	25. Chapter 27

Luna's worries of a big battle came sooner than she had feared. The morning had come, they had stayed over in the smaller city for the night and they were just getting themselves organised for the day when word came of trouble to the north.

Towards Zephilia...

"Let's face it," said Lina, quietly," there probably just isn't a good place to stay..."

Luna took a big swig from her tea. "Gotta wake up..." she mumbled.

Ayn said "No place is good, but Seirune remains fairly central, it's as good as we will get. After all, if this had been south, east, or west of here..."

She was interupted as more people came into the Inn, as if on cue, and told of trouble...

To the east...

"Zephilia, or Elemikia, where do we go first? And what is true, and what is rumour?" moaned Amelia.

"Well, Elemikia is largely desert, if they fight out there, there aren't any people to get hurt." put in Gourry.

"And Zephilia is mostly farmland, lots of small villages, and important food crops to protect." said Ayn. She sighed. "Sorry Mr. Gourry, I think we go north."

"No." said Luna. "Zephilia has a lot of vulnerable targets, but it is also famous for producing a lot of heros, both fighting and magic. Plus the Eternal Queen is not without resources. Don't forget, after the Aqua Lord was torn apart a thousand years ago during the second war of the Monster's Fall, not all the pieces died. One became the Claire Bible, another piece lay hidden until a young woman discovered it about eight hundred years ago, and it absorbed into her, granting her extreme long life, quite possibly even eternal life, and no aging either. I do not know if Her Majesty can be killed by violence, but I have a feeling she will live on without knowing physical old age until the Lord of Nightmares herself ends her reign. Zephilia can take care of itself for now."

She went on. "Elemikia on the other hand, while it is a kingdom of tough and worthy people, has developed little magic, compared to some other countries, and has relied more on the ability of it's fighters to act as guardians. They have done a remarkable job over the generations, but the loss of the Sword of Light was a setback to them, was it not, Gourry?" she asked.

Gourry looked sad, and guilty. "Yeah, it was..." he sighed. Lina held his hand and looked at him with sympathy.

"Don't be sad." said Luna in a kindly voice. "You did the right thing. It was a tragedy that they lost two members of your family, it would have been worse if they had lost many members of the warrior family of Gabrieve to a blood feud. There was only one Sword of Light, and only one hand could wield it at a time. A brave hand, of course, and one willing to jump into the thickest part of the battle, but there is no hand that could have ever wielded it single handedly against overwheming odds and won."

"Oh, Gourry did very well with that!" smiled Lina.

Luna nodded and smiled back, then said "Don't sell yourself short in the roll of backup, sis, of course he did great when he was by himself, and he's been doing even better than that with you. Thanks to daddy." she winked.

Unfortunately it was lost in her bangs...

Then she went on, more seriously. "But he couldn't have taken on a full battle of dragon warriors alone, and fortunately, he doesn't have to. I'm slowly learning, so I won't rush to make the final decision here, but I strongly recommend we go east, not north, and make sure the dragons are fighting in the desert, not on top of the cities. If all is as well as can be there, then we can go north."

"Well, there's merit to that." said Lemmy, venturing her opinion. "My only concern is with the fact that Zephilia supplies a lot of food to many countries besides itself. If we make the wrong choice we could be looking at a famine if they get destroyed..."

"Unfortunately, that's a point too..." said Luna.

"And any word on Filia being active?" asked Migasa, joining in as well.

"Not so far..." said Ayn, "but she is our primary mission. We must also be ready for that."

"I haven't forgotten." replied Luna. "But we can't ignore a threat to others from a dragon battle either. This is not going to be easy for the next while, I'm afraid."

The others nodded.

After breakfast they got out of the city and made ready to fly. "I'm getting a lot of exercise lately, I hope my girlish figure doesn't all go to muscle on me..." pouted Ayn.

"Fear not, my Lady. On you, the hardest muscle would still look absolutely feminine and charming..." smirked Milgasa.

"Oh, Jolly joker..." Ayn started, but she was interupted by a noticably hard elbow to the ribs and a loud guffaw from Luna.

"HaW! I told you he was sweet on you, didn't I? Didn't I? Why don't you two just admit it and make it easier on yourselves?"

Ayn blushed and frowned. "Lady Luna! Of all the nerve, it, it's not that at all! HMPH!" She turned and walked away to find a private spot to change while Luna giggled and giggled.

Milgasa sighed...

Soon they were mounted and up in the air. "Might as well relax, everyone, our dragons are swift, but the distance is long, this will take a while..." said Luna.

"Short or long, so long as Justice prevails in the end." said Amelia, sounding authoritative. She was riding with Luna and Lemmy, on Ayn.

"Are you feeling a bit better?" asked Lemmy.

Amelia was silent for a bit, then quietly said "My private grief will last a long, long time, Miss Lemmy, but life goes on, and I have work to do." The others nodded. Amelia was a brave, brave girl.

Then Amelia asked Lemmy "What about you, Miss Lemmy? I've not been meaning to ignore you, though I think I have, please forgive me."

"Uh, what about me?" asked Lemmy, sounding a bit confused.

"Er, well," said Amelia, "it's just, well, you seem restless or something."

Lemmy sighed. "Oh dear, does it show so much?" she asked. "I was hoping to hide it, especially in front of, you know, The Knight. Meh, it's just that I don't like going hours without killing something that deserves to die, and it's been days..."

"Oh. Er..." said Amelia.

"AND IT'S BEEN DAYS!!!" shouted Lemmy again, letting her frustration show this time.

Luna laughed, Ayn growled, and Amelia didn't know what to do.

"A little obsessive compulsive, are we?" asked Luna. She then said "Why don't you open up a bit, Miss Lemmy, and tell us about yourself? How did you met with the Princess here, for example."

"Oh that." said Lemmy. "Well, I was wandering about, having a blast slaying things that were in sorry need of it, as usual, and some guy asked me to take on a slaying job. He said he was being attacked by a third rate witch and wanted me to do her in. Naturally, I said yes. I mean, get to kill, and get paid for it? What girl could resist? So I went out and found the miscreant wench and was about to slay her, when she started talking to me and asked me why I was killing unjustly. I told her Justice could go hang, 'cause I didn't care which side I worked for, as long as I could kill. But then she explained to me that that was a guarenteed way to end up as a criminal myself, someday. She then told me that if I would only slay the unjust I could slay all I wanted and not have to worry about the law. I decided that that sounded fair enough, get the law off my back and do my bit to improve the planet, and still have a blast slaying things that deserved it, so I decided "what the hell" and went for it. And the wench happened to be the Princess here. And boy! Has it been good! Slaying without fear of reprisal, not that I ever did, and doing good by it."

She seemed pleased with that for some reason...

"Er, is that really how it went?" asked Amelia, with a sweatdrop...

Luna seemed a bit stuck for words, but Ayn had no trouble rumbling to life. "And the Princess did explain about a fair trial, didn't she?"

"Well, of course she'd give them a fair trial first..." Amelia started to say with some enthusiasm, when Lemmy cut her short by asking, in all sincerity, "What's a "fair trial"?"

Amelia face faulted so hard that she almost fell off of Ayn, who just sighed "I thought so..."

Luna sweatdropped. "A fair trial is where you find out if they really are unjust."

"Of course they are unjust. They wouldn't come to my attention otherwise..." said a puzzled Lemmy.

"What if they were falsely accused?" asked Ayn.

"Well, if that ever happens, I'll have to go slay their accuser..." said Lemmy.

"M-Miss Lemmy, uh, I perhaps was not as thorough as I thought I was all those years ago, but, uh, it's part of it that you have to know they really are bad guys before you, uh, slay them..." said Amelia, about to cry over the monster she had mistakenly created.

Lemmy gave her a strange look, then, with a rude laugh of triumph, leapt onto Amelia and pinned her in a headlock. Ayn swerved from the sudden activity on her back and gave an irritated snarl, but it was largely ignored. "HA!" she laughed. "Do you twits mean to tell me you don't think I know what a fair trial is? Ha, ha! Gotcha! You think I'm stupid..."

"Obsessed is more like it." replied Luna. "Ah well, I confess, you got me. Now do me a favour, never tell Lina."

"I didn't know what to believe, so I guess you got me too." replied Ayn. "Now, do me a favour, ignore Luna and be sure to tell Lina."

"What? Hey, just a minute!" yelled Luna to her mount.

Meanwhile Amelia managed a muffled "Uh, you got me, and you are still getting me, Miss Lemmy, c-can you let go of me now, please? This head lock is starting to hurt..."

"I don't wanna." pouted Lemmy. "This is helping ease the strain of not having killed anything in too long."

"Waaa, lemme go..." wailed Amelia."

"Sheesh, you whine like a girl." said Lemmy as she let Amelia up.

"Hey? Uh, how should I whine then?" asked a confused Amelia, as she got up and unruffled her hair. "I AM a girl..."

Lemmy face palmed. "Get a sense of humour, please, Princess..." she said, with exasperation.

"Oh..." pouted Amelia.

Lemmy gave her a smirk and a pat to show all was well, and then she asked Luna a more serious question.

"Miss Luna, I realise this may be none of my business, however, I am curious, what did you mean by saying Gourry's family had lost two warriors?"

"Hmmm?" said Luna, then "Oh, well, I don't think it's a secret, but there was a dispute over who should have the Sword of light, which was a family heirloom of the Gabrieves."

Lemmy nodded.

Luna went on. "As a result of the fighting, Gourry's older brother was killed. That's the first loss. Gourry, desperate to stop the bloodshed, took the Sword of Light and ran away from home with it. He's never been back home since, and that's the second loss. I hope our going there now won't expose him to trouble.

Lemmy was silent for a bit. "I understand. I've lost family to evil, my father was killed for his magic he was developing to make snow, and I haven't seen my brother, Rod, for ever so long. I think he must be dead. Well, one day, I will find his killer and the son of a bitch will wish he had never been born."

She sighed. "We used to meet once a year and have a showdown. It was kind of serious enough, but we never killed each other, and it was a way of saying we loved each other, though I don't suppose anyone who didn't grow up in our family would get that part. Then, one year, he wasn't there, and I've never seen him since. I'd give just about anything to give both of them their lives back, even if I could never see them again. Yeah, poor Gourry, I do get it, atleast to a point..."

Luna reached over and put a hand on Lemmy's shoulder...

Meanwhile, on Milgasa, Lina asked the dragon "Say, Milgasa, um, give me the truth here, what are our chances of standing up to two dragon armies?"

Milgasa replied "Can't you tell, Lady Lina?"

"Well, in truth, I'm stuck somewhere between "slim" and "none"." she replied.

Milgasa said "Well, that's probably a fair enough assessment. It depends on how many, how well trained, who leads, and how well we can impress them that we are a force to be reconned with."

He sighed."I just don't know, if you or Lady Luna have any hugh, dragon eating rabbits you can pull from your hats..."

Lina thought for a bit. "Rabbits? I don't know, we'd probably need to talk to Tim the Bizzare and Ugly Dressed Enchanter, but frankly he's a bit of a git and I doubt he'd be any help." she said. "I guess we'll have to settle for what we already have..."

They flew on through the skies...

Meanwhile, Zelgadiss was having a much better morning. No looming dragons where he was. Just a looming wedding. His. Well, and Sylphiel's too...

But that's what happens when you wake a girl from a healing sleep by proposing to her. On the other hand, he was, in a way, glad it had happened that way, if he had known she was awake, he might have clammed up, as it was, he was getting what he wanted, just a lot faster than he thought it was going to come. Well, that's life?

It was the yelp. He had given a yelp of surprise when Sylphiel had squeezed his hand and said "yes" and that had brought Anesha. But she came quietly and when she heard them talking, and seen their first kiss, she had paused to assess the situation. Of course it didn't take her long to realise what was going on, and then the grand entrance, the checking of the patient, and the somehow or other talking them into getting married in the morning.

Gods, that woman was slick...

It might have helped if Sylphiel had had any family she was really close to, or Zel for that matter, but as it was, being as they were both adults, and both orphans without siblings, there was no one to delay the wedding for, and no need for an ultra fancy show. Which neither of them were into anyway. Of course, Shantal was beside herself, it was all fun and games for her, and to make things worse, one of her friends had come over that morning, and then left in a big hurry. It seemed there would be an audience of some sort. Shantal had immediately taken charge of designing things like the dress, the menu, the seating arrangements, and after she had gotten that far her mother was finally able to grind her to a halt, and let sensibility reign. Headlocks had their uses after all...

As it was the couple to be were going to have to make do with borrowed clothing for the ceremony. One nice thing though, when some of Shantal's friends had shown up, and gotten over the initial "Gee Whiz!" stage, Anesha was able to put them to good work helping out. Nothing like a celebration to make mundane work seem like fun.

So, the temple was getting a going over with a broom, fresh wild flowers were being picked, the wedding feast was started, including something Anesha was chortling over, but not sharing, and Sylphiel and Zel were being taken in hand to be bathed and prepared.

There was no mistaking, whenever they got to exchange glances, that they both felt overwhelmed by the suddeness, but it was equally evident they were both happy it was happening.

"Happy... yes." thought Zel as he was busy scrubbing up with a wire brush in a tub. Gary was with him, helping him. Gary smirked "You know Zel, this is rather sudden, do you have any questions? Need anything, um, explained?"

Zel blushed bluishly, and replied "What did you have in mind?" He so hoped he wasn't playing the straight man here...

Gary laughed. "Well, it's been my experience that some young men come into this blessed state in a state of blissfull ignorance of what's about to happen, you know, after the party."

"An immense hangover?" smiled Zel.

"Ya! Sometimes!" laughed Gary. "But I was thinking more of the "man and woman" thing. Some guys have no idea."

"But Anesha knew what to do, I take it?" smirked Zel, striking pre-emptively.

"Huh???" said a startled Gary, who then broke out laughing. "Okay, okay, I've been warned then, truce, truce, he, he..."

"No, no questions like that."said Zel with a smile. "Just a big "Why me, when she could have her choice of any man?". Asked with all different meaning possible..."

"Well, you answered your own question, didn't you? She could have her choice, and she chose. Why? You'll have to ask her, my bet is it's because she loves you. You saved her, after all, and she knew you from before, and liked you a lot. Hey, chicks dig heros, what can I say?" Gary replied.

Zel nodded. "Well, I saw her with a hero complex for someone else, it took a long time for her to get over it. I will trust her love is real, not just emotion."

"Emotion is part of it, and if she took a long time to get over the other guy, I doubt it was mere hero worship. Your trick is to make her glad she's with you, make her happy, and even if this is partly based on hero worship, it will become love, and she might not even know the transition ever happened. I can see that she's the sort who will do her best to make you happy, so how can you lose?"

Zel nodded. "I think the big part is just I'm nervous. I know it doesn't show, but obviously I've never been married before. I never thought I'd find someone who would make me want to marry her whether I was cured or not. Now, I know I would be very, very hurt to go on without her beside me."

Gary nodded. "Don't worry, it gets better when we get started. And remember, she's going to be about as nervous as you are. Maybe more. You get to show off by being the one who is strong for her."

"Voice of experience?" teased Zel.

"Hell yeah!" replied Gary. "Only, I've let her think she was so strong and so brave all this time that I think she believes it, so, remember to keep this as a guys only secret, okay?" he winked.

"I'm mum..." chuckled Zel

Sylphiel and Anesha had stayed up half the night and talked after Sylphiel awoke, and by now they had struck up a friendship. Though there hadn't been time to train, Anesha had at least been able to show Sylphiel how she had been healed, which had amazed the white priestess to no end. To think there was a spell of healing that called on the chaos magic as well. So, it wasn't all just Lina and her destructive side. She was definitely coming back here to study when things had calmed down in the world. But right now she was also undergoing preparations for her wedding with Anesha's help. Because she was going to take longer to get ready, or so the theory went at any rate, she had bathed first, and was now sitting there all tingly clean as Anesha helped her get ready. And Shantal was there too, with her friend Linni. They were helping, of course, though how helpful their help was, was open to debate...

The girls immediately started deciding which trowel to use to apply the make up.

"On this beautiful skin?" her mother scolded, pointing to Sylphiel's fresh scrubbed face. "She's practically made up already with just soap and water, you little miscreants. No, we will gently touch the highlights, but the gods have done most of the work for us already."

Sylphiel turned a pretty shade of red at that remark. "Oh my, Anesha, uh, I like to think I'm pretty, but I don't deserve that much praise." she said, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Not!" snorted Shantal, while Linni giggled. "Hey, you are so beautiful that I'd fall in love with you, and so would Linni-kins." she went on.

"Say what??? Sha-sha, what trouble are ya trying to get me into now?" said Shantal's friend with a blush of her own.

Anesha sighed. "Girls..." she warned.

She turned her attention to Sylphiel again. "You are like everyone else. People either see themselves as too beautiful or too ugly, no one seems to get it right. But trust me, you are just about as beautiful as a woman can get without glowing from divinity. So, stop arguing. Anyway, what matters is how Zel sees you, and I know he's going to be floored. He, he, he..."

After some preliminary dressing and fitting of a borrowed white dress Sylphiel had to admit she actually was begining to look bride like. And she allowed herself to like what she saw. She smiled, was this really going to work, then?

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, and I think I have the blue part down already." she quipped to her attendants.

Anesha laughed. "Yep! No argument here." She took a very fine liner brush and began teaching. "Here's where we finish off your perfection. Girls pay attention." She dipped the brush in a colour and began to make up Sylphiel. "Little crisscross strokes here, and smooth it out with some back and forth strokes, using only two hairs and some air." she instructed as she worked. A short time later she was done. The final touches, even a veil, and the bride was ready!

Anesha took time to ask Sylphiel an important question. "You do realise what happens later, don't you? You know, between a man and a woman? I realise you probably covered this in your training, but, if you have any questions this is the time...

Sylphiel chuckled and blushed again. "Oh, I think I have the theory down on that, but, well, I've no practical experience at all. So, if there's something I should know before we get to the practical exam, well, you better let me know..."

Anesha giggled too. "Nah, I can tell you know enough to make out alright, and you can take that anyway you want." she winked. "It's good too, judging from my own experience it was really handy one of us knew what was going on."

But you were able to train Gary quickly, I take it?" Sylphiel asked in all sincerity.

"Yep, and I even managed to save his ego by letting him believe he was the big and strong one. But please keep that part as a girls only secret, okay?"

Sylphiel smiled and nodded.

"I think we're ready." announced Anesha.

In short order so was the groom.

A crowd had gathered at the chapel, curious villagers mostly, and a lot of the younger set were there. Well, but it was a party, wasn't it? Oh, yeah, and a couple of strangers were getting hitched...

Ah, any excuse would do!

It was evident from the buzz that Shantal had been talking. Zel just hoped she wasn't augmenting too much...

In the manner of the place Zel and Sylphiel entered at the same time from opposite sides and walked towards each other, meeting in front of the priest. Of dourse it was Gary, but in his full vestments he did look the part. Sylphiel had a brief memory of her own father in his robes, while Zel couldn't help but compare him, favourably, with a certain "priest" nicknamed "Namangomi"...

But only briefly. Sylphiel was done up beautifully and for Zel, it was as if an angel was floating towards him, not just a beautiful young woman. He gulped, and remembered to be brave. For her part, Sylphiel saw her hero, and the rest of reality seemed to fade by comparison.

The ceremony was a bit longer than the one Phil had given Lina and Gourry just a few days ago, but the gist of it was the same, the questions to determine willingness and that this was freely entered into. The call for objections, of which there were none, though for a second it seemed as if Shantal had been wanting to say something. A sharp cracking noise seemed to stop her. Zel couldn't turn around and look, but he had the impression of a well aimed maternal finger being flicked against a remarkably hard head...

The pronouncement that they were married came soon enough, and the all important first kiss. Zel felt like he was being electrocuted with pleasure, wondered if such a thing was possible, then told himself to get a grip. The rest was coming, soon...

Finally, they went to sign the register. Zel wrote his name, and Sylphiel followed suit, twice. She was required to use her maiden name, then her new married name as a sign of her approval of her change of status. Anesha signed as a witness, and then it was Gary's turn.

He gave a gasp, stared at the name, and then at Sylphiel. "Nels Rada? You are Sylphiel Nels Rada? From Sairaag, yes?"

Sylphiel looked perplexed. "Yes." she acknowleged.

"Eruk was you father?" Gary asked.

"D-did you know daddy?" the girl replied.

Gary beamed a big happy smile at her. "I took part of my training under him! Ha, ha, ha! Oh this is wonderful! You see, while I was there, his wife gave birth to their first daughter! They named her Sylphiel! That's why you've seemed familiar all this time. It's you! Oh, child, I am so honoured indeed to be able to repay a tiny bit of all the kindness your family showed me when I was there by being able to officiate at your wedding! Oh this is marvelous!"

Sylphiel beamed a grateful smile. "Oh, how wonderful to meet someone who knew my daddy. Please, when we get a chance, let us talk." she said.

"Deal!" said Gary. He then led them outside, and introduced them as man and wife, and then, the moment they were all really waiting for, dismissed the crowd to fall upon the feast! A cacaphony of cheers, pipes, fiddles, and talking erupted as they all spilled from the chapel and made for the backyard of the house. The ale keg, donated for the cause by the inn keeper who was as impressed as anyone with who his guest the other day had been, was quickly broached, and there was an immediate line up at the tables. Zel and Sylphiel were escorted to the seats of honour, where they sat amidst mountains of food, most of it good basic fare. There was lots of fish, it was a fishing village after all, but there were all sorts of other yummy things too. The man and wife looked around, each of them wondering how all of this had been organised so quickly.

Zel made a note to never, ever, underestimate old wives and village wise women...

There was dancing, kids, of all ages, playing, and Shantal holding court with her friends as they crowded around the couple, refusing to give them a moment's peace until they told at least some of their adventures. Shantal did manage to make sure tales with Lina in them were rather predominant. Actually, it backfired on her just a little bit when Zel decided what the hell and told of the battle with Shabradnigdo. He made sure to emphasis how responsible Lina had been, especially about using her most secret spell, which he was not allowed to name, only as a last resort. He was glad Lina wasn't there to hear him "augment" the story, mostly because he had a feeling that that would be the new canon. But as it was, he saw that some of it wasn't lost on Shantal, who seemed to at least glean that being responsible might be a way to get greater power. Anything to avoid another Lina...

"Gosh..." was her surprisingly quiet comment.

The highlight for Zel was the cutting of the cake.

"We didn't have time for a cake, sorry." said a smirking Anesha as she handed a big knife to the newlyweds, and led them to what turned out to be a hugh pie.

Ah, that's what she'd been chortling about earlier.

It was lemon meringue...

It took some time before Zel could stop laughing and help to cut the thing.

Anyway, the party did what partys always do, and after feasting, talking, the obligatory dances and toasts, with a few kisses thrown in for fun, it came to an end. Sylphiel shook her head as she went to toss her bouquet, remembering how she had been the one to catch, by accident, Lina's flowers. What an omen that was, if only they had known...

She turned her back to the crowd and tossed a good toss, then turned around to to see what would happen. A big pile up, actually. Shantal was apparently not so unique in this village for being a "getting what she wanted" kind of girl and a desperate pushing and grabbing match ensued as all the girls fought to be under the falling bouquet.

"Ive seen tamer battles..." said an amazed Zel.

"Girls..." replied Sylphiel, with a sweatdrop...

In the end Shantal was pushy enough to get her way, but not pushy enough to stop Linni from getting there and catching it at the same time. There were loud screams of dissaproval, then a lot of insisting that since they caught it together they were meant to marry each other. Linni tried to deny it, but Shantal prefered to put on a bold face and demand so what if they did. Linni insisted on arguing that point and soon there was a regular wrestling match going on on the lawn. Amazingly, no one seemed to want to break it up, and there were even a few bets made on the outcome.

Somehow, the bouquet seemed to be unharmed in all of it...

Zel was very grateful that he and Sylphiel were led away at that point.

They were finally settled into a room and left alone. Zel and Sylphiel collapsed on the bed with a groan. And a laugh. Each.

They looked at each other without saying a word for a long time, letting their eyes do the talking.

"I'm afraid we will have to pull a Lina and Gourry and leave in the morning." Zel said eventually.

"I know." replied Sylphiel.

"I love you." said Zel, softly.

"I know." said Sylphiel, also softly, and with a slight flush.

Their lips met... 


	26. Chapter 28

The day was getting on when they crossed the boarder with Elemikia. Lina noted that Gourry was unusually silent as he looked down on his homeland, a country he had avoided returning to for many years. "Hey..." she said softly, letting him know she was there for him.

He smiled, and squeezed her hand. "Hey..." he returned.

"It's going to be okay." she said with an encouraging tone.

"I'm not worried." he said. "Chances are we won't meet anyone, and if we do, we will deal with it. It's just the memories."

Lina nodded. It had taken quite a while for her to get all the story out of Gourry, but they had spent years together, after all, and she knew the reasons he had taken the Sword of Light from his family home, and run away with it. Luna had apparently somehow heard most of the story from her own sources too. It was sad, really, and she didn't wonder at his silence. She wondered how she'd have reacted if it had been her.

There was a shift as the dragons began to decend towards a town. Time to get information. Once they got there they found that there wasn't that much, but they did find that something was happening northwards. So, it was back up into the air and then away towards the top of the map.

An urgent flight, then...

"Dragons! Golden Dragons!" said Ayn, indicating the horizon in front of them.

"Humans too." added Milgasa.

"The hell..." muttered Luna, loosening her sword. There was a slight clink, almost in unison, as Lemmy did the same.

"Still go with my Estoc?" she asked, double checking with Luna.

"I would." was the reply.

"I don't Dragon Slave, any advice?" asked Amelia as she eyed up the situation.

"There is an astral aspect to dragons, a Ra Tilt might work, but not as well as a Dragon Slave." said Luna. Ayn added "It will sting, and the better you are at casting one the more it will hurt. A Ra Tilt fired from only one human won't be lethal, but it will distract, maybe even stun."

"Thank you." replied Amelia. She seemed to be thinking of, or perhaps remembering, something...

Soon enough, or even too soon, they arrived and found a batallion of golden dragons facing down a ragtag force of humans. Most of them were...

"Swordsmen! Blonde, tall, hunky swordsmen!" enthused Lemmy.

Luna sniggered. "I see your mind is on the battle, Miss Lemmy."

Lemmy blushed. "S-sorry, I am concentrating on the battle, really I am, and looking forward to killing some evil doer butt, but, uh, well, it's just they all look like Mr. Gourry..."

"He, he, he." snickered Ayn. "I thought I heard something ticking."

Lemmy blushed more, and Luna said to Ayn "Are you sure you're in a position to speak?"

Ayn was quiet as she prepared to land. Then she said, a little softly "Well, maybe it takes one to know one. But we better do this now and talk later."

"I'm on it..." smiled Luna, leaping off of Ayn's back as the dragon touched the ground.

Meanwhile Amelia had given Lemmy a smile and said to her "It's okay Miss Lemmy, you can be a justice fighter and a mother too. My mother was. And my daddy too. And you are also right that this is defintiely the land of Mr. Gourry's people."

"Er... thanks..." said Lemmy, giving the Princess a perplexed look.

Then they were off Ayn's back and striding towards the center of the action. Lina and Gourry joined them, and Ayn and Milgasa, still in dragon form were right behind them. The crowd had seen them coming, and had stopped whatever was going on. Partly because they recognised that the group was special somehow, and partly because Luna used her irresistable willpower, the crowd made way and let them through to the center where a group of humans was confronting the apparent leaders of the dragons.

"Hmph!" snorted the head dragon, a large and imposing creature in armour, with a rather ornate helmet strapped to his head. He had his eyeguards down, which meant that he had to turn and look directly at the approaching group to see them well. He spoke in an annoyed voice "This seems to be my day to meet people. Don't you know I have a battle to attend?"

He seemed upset for some reason.

"I'm your battle, if you don't shut up and listen" snapped Luna in a thoroughly no nonsense tone of voice that caused Lina to step back with a cring. She had heard it a time or two.

The dragon did a double take. "Oh! Lady Luna! I apologise, for a minute I didn't recognise you. What do you wish to say?"

Luna stopped right in front of him and asked "Who are you, and what the hell is going on here?"

The Dragon frowned a bit then said "My name is Lord Usbec, and I have a brigade of golden dragons with me. We have reports that a large force of black dragons is sweeping down through the region north and west of here that I believe you humans call Zephilia."

Then he noticed Ayn. "Is she with you, Lady Luna?" he asked, giving the black dragon a very black look.

Before Luna could snap off an angry reply the calm voice of Milgasa cut in. "Lord Usbec, remove your helmet and see better. Lady Ayn is Lady Luna's squire."

Usbec turned his head farther. "Oh, Lord Milgasa. It's you. So, you vouchesafe for her too? Well, I was expecting battle, I would have my helmet on now wouldn't I?" He spoke to Ayn in a much softer and more respectful voice. "So, you are from the temple of Ceiphied then, Lady. Forgive my outburst, it's your people we are fighting, unfortunately. For myself, I wish for peace, but I cannot ignore my duty in war, alas."

Ayn simply nodded in a respectful greeting.

"Yes, I know you, Lord Usbec, you do love peace. Alas that these times have befallen you." replied Milgasa.

"Lord Usbec." said Luna. "I need you and your whole brigade to take a message to the highest command of your people, on my authority. In exchange for that, I will stop the black dragons myself."

"For no one else would I turn from my mission, Lady, and even now it will depend on your message." replied Usbec.

Luna nodded. "Say this to them. The Knight of Ceiphied takes no sides, the dragons must settle their own affairs, and I will not interfere. However, there are many innocent beings, humans, elves, and others, who have nothing to do with this war. If the dragons do not show restraint and start fighting battles in populated areas, causing death and destruction to the other races, then Luna Inverse will move to stop it, even if I must declare war all of dragon kind. Keep your battles away from others, and I will leave you alone and get on with my main task, running the "Destroying Angel" to ground."

Lord Usbec considered, then nodded. "Yes. They will be angry, but a whole brigade turned back by the Knight of Ceiphied will not be a message they can ignore. But you had better stop the Blacks, or no one will listen."

"I will stop them." said Luna.

"Lord Usbec. If you are lucky enough to be discharged from the service over this, come and find me, we can use you here." said Milgasa.

Usbec actually smiled. Then he growled something in Dragon, and the whole brigade took flight, heading to the east, away from the battle.

Luna looked to Milgasa, who said "I know him of old, he is trustworthy. Alas for him, his heart lies with the temple of Ceiphied, and had his father not forbade it he would have joined the priesthood instead of the army."

"He still can if he truely wishes to." said Ayn quietly.

"He risks being disowned, but this war may yet push him in that direction, Lady." was Milgasa's reply.

The dragon business settled Luna turned to the humans who had been standing up to them.

"Protecting your homes is fine, but how the hell did you expect to avoid being barbequed? Surely to goddness running away would have been more logical?" she asked.

An older man stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Er well, we were, we are, or so we ment to, but we needed to delay the dragons for a time so we could get away. And it's just that no one wanted anyone to face certain death alone, so in the end we all ended up coming..."

"I see where you get it from, Jellyfish..." teased Lina.

"Ya think?" answered her husband with a sweat drop.

Luna smiled and said to the old man "Well, no one, least of all me, doubts the bravery of the Elemikians, but next time, just run away all together, or there won't be anyone left to save...". She turned to go and the others followed her.

Then a womans voice said "Gourry? Gourry Gabrieve?"

Gourry stopped and turned, Lina and the others also did the same.

A tall, blonde, drop dead gorgeous woman (need we mention the inevitably big breasts?) who could have given Sylphiel a run for her money any day of the week stood there, her bright blue eyes staring intently at Gourry. She wore the robes of a white priestess.

"Emer..." said Gourry softly.

Emer came up to Gourry and suddenly grabbed him into a hug, which he returned. "I thank the gods you are safe, Gourry. How have you been?"

"Well, as well as I could be..." replied Gourry, also softly. Then he added "Emer, I don't have time to stay, I'm sorry. Listen, one good thing has happened, the sword is gone. I found it was actually an artifact from the Overworld, originally meant to fight their evil lord, Darksomething-or-other, and I gave it back to them, they needed it."

"Dark Star..." corrected Lina.

Emer turned and looked at Lina. She smiled and said "I see my cousin still doesn't remember his manners. I'm Emer, Emer Chulainn now, though I used to be a Gabrieve too."

Gourry interjected "Wow, oh yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, so you tied the knot with Chu, did you Emer??"

Emer smiled."Well, what was I to do, Gourry dearest, wait for someone who was never coming back? Anyway, you are still being rude, I still don't know who this lady is or why she's so possesively gripping your arm."

"Huh?" said Gourry as he realised for the first time that Lina had a death grip on his righ upper arm.

"Huh." said Lina, as she realised she had grabbed him without even realising it.

"Oh, yeah, ha, ha, I'm just so out of it today. This is Lina."

Lina kicked him.

"Ow, right, Lina Gabrieve, my wife. Sorry..."

Emer smiled a big happy smile. "Oh Gourry! She's beautiful! You better take good care of her or I'll come and find you. And I'll bring Chu. I think he still wants a rematch, or two.." she teased.

No, half teased...

"I'll send for you then, shall I?" smiled Luna as she joined the group. "But I wouldn't worry, I don't think Gourry's ever been anything but the best for sis here. I just wish I could say the same thing about her..."

"Luna..." protested Lina.

"Sister?" said Emer, puzzled. She looked to the dragons.

"What?" asked Ayn, puzzled.

"Well, if she's Luna Inverse, the Knight of Ceiphied, then that makes Lina her sister, Lina Inverse, before she married, right?"

Lina growled suddenly, she could see where this was going...

"Go on." encouraged Luna, giving Lina a "look"...

"Well, are there two Lina Inverses out there? Why aren't your dragons spooked?

Lina was fit to be tied, Amelia got the giggles, and Ayn very helpfully said "Oh but we are. We're just even more afraid of her sister and Luna says we have to stay..."

"Problem solved..." smirked Luna.

Emer looked confused, and Lina launched into a tirade.

"Again with the names! How the hell did I get to be called a Dragon Spooker, huh?" she yelled.

"I thought we answered that already." said Milgasa, as Ayn nodded.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember. Naga the Serpent! Her head, my silver platter..." snarled Lina.

"Oh Lina, don't you think that's a bit unjust for just being called a name?" said Amelia, her sense of "Justice" returning.

The look Lina gave her was enough to cause her to hide behind Lemmy. "Guess not..." she gulped.

"Hey, I'll help." volunteered an enthusiastic Lemmy. "Do you want her to suffer first? And can we go now? I still haven't killed anything today!"

Luna said "Lina, stop laughing like that..."

"Uh..." said Gourry with a shrug to Emer.

She smiled. "It's okay, Gourry. Listen, your dad has forgiven you, and my brother had done penance for killing yours, enough to at least make peace and satisfy the blood price. You are no longer obligated to kill him, though the right is still yours if you want it. I think it might be okay for a visit sometime. Let me know you are coming and I'll make sure all goes well. Just leave word at the temple in Barnes that you want to come, okay? You know where that is, right? The village near the city of Noble?"

Gourry gulped a deep emotional gulp and nodded. Lina did what she always did and picked up on Gourry's inner mood right away and hugged him. "Yes Emer, we'd love to come, if it's okay." she said softly.

Emer gave Lina a hug and said "Welcome to the family Lina. I'm so happy for Gourry that he found you, and I'm sure you'll be happy with him."

Lina hugged back and smiled. "I already am." she said.

Emer hugged Gourry again and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I am so happy you are okay. Now, get going, you've held the Lady Luna up long enough..." she chuckled.

"And I'm happy that you are okay too." said Gourry to Emer, as she turned away.

He went to Milgasa with Lina and made ready to mount.

"Wait for someone who was never coming back?" asked Lina.

"There was an arrangement between our families that Emer and I were to be married, it's common enough in Elemikia." explained Gourry. "But then fate intervened, her older brother killed mine in a fight over the inheritance of the Sword of Light, and I ran away with it. Then I met you, and made my own arrangements. Emer's a great girl, but I think I did better..." he smiled.

Lina kissed him, long and hard, then bopped him on the head. "You mean you KNOW you did better, yoghurt brain..." she corrected.

"So true, so true..." said Gourry as they climbed aboard Milgasa.

"And you lot can shut up!" she yelled at the crew on Ayn's back who were openly laughing at what they had seen and heard...

The dragons rushed into the air again and flew a bit to the right of the setting sun. They hoped to meet the Black Dragons before they lost all light. The dragons did something they hadn't done before, they flew as fast as possible. The ride was different than all the other ones, for one thing the rushing air made converation almost impossible as the riders had to hold on tight and turn their faces from the rushing wind. For another, they had to hold on tight, the force threatened to tear them off. And it was way scarier...

A couple of times during the flight Amelia and Lina both risked their lives to throw a "Recovery" spell on their respective dragons, helping them continue to fly faster, but they couldn't do it much, as they had to reserve their own strength for the possible battle.

"Why did this seem easier on Filia somehow?" mused Lina. But she already had her answer. Filia was a big kid, in dragon terms, and nowhere near as strong as Ayn or Milgasa. These were fully grown and capable dragons, and they were going all out in an effort to cover nearly a day's journey in a matter of a scant few hours. It was possible, but it was going to take all their strength. They wouldn't be able to help if there was a fight. Heck, they probably wouldn't be able to even run if the black dragons turned on them...

Finally, when the sun was setting for sure, they reached the region of Zephilia City proper. To the south of the city there was a regular roil of some sort. "Dragons..." panted Ayn.

They came in fast and landed a bit hard. "Stay and get your breath, that's an order." Luna said to both the dragons, who had collapsed on the ground and were panting away. She got no argument.

The humans went speedily forward and found a large contingent of mages and warriors tangling with a large party of Black Dragons. There appeared to have already been some fighting and some of the dragons seemed to be hurt. So did a lot of the people. Or worse. Not to mention the large number of scorch marks on the ground.

"Some of these are dragons breath, but others must have been fire balls." said Lina, analysing the burns.

Luna nodded. "Sis, get up on that hill, give us a minute to send the humans packing and then have at the dragons. You know the spell..."

Lina looked puzzled, but nodded, and went to the indicated spot. Like she was going to question Luna, now...

"But you didn't treat the golden dragons like this." said Amelia, puzzled. Apparently she hadn't heard the "Don't question Luna..." concept.

"The golden dragons were exchanging heated words with the humans, these dragons are exchanging heat." was the reply.

"Oh..." said Amelia.

Luna plunged through the crowd and started yelling at the people "Get Back! Leave the dragons alone and get back!" The others followed suit. The dragons were confused by this but recognised Luna, as did the Zephilians, and so they let her and her companions go and drive the people away.

After seeing the people start to move away, Lina muttered "I hope you know what you are doing, big sister." and began to chant.

"You, who are darker than twilight,  
You, who are more crimson than flowing blood,  
You, who are buried in passing time."

Lina actually had to gulp. A vision of Zel and Sylphiel suddenly flew up into her mind. She pushed it away.

"In your name, the Great One,  
I pledge myself to darkness, That to those fools who stand in our way,  
You and I together will give ruin and no one can escape from us"

She took a deep breath and aimed for the center of the apparently still unsuspecting dragons...

"DRAGON SLAVE!!!"

A pink ball of intense energy formed in her hands and launched outwards towards the dragon army. Now some of them noticed it...

Too late...

A hugh explosion of pink, brightening to white, light engulfed the scene and a shock wave spread out in all directions. It even rocked Lina when it swept past her. As soon as it was safe, she Ray Winged over to the scene. There was the typical large crater in the ground. She hoped that the farmer would like his new pond...

Several dragons just weren't there any more...

Many of the others were injured to varying degrees...

Those that were capable of it were unbelievably mad...

A war party approached Luna and the rest as Lina touched down beside her sister.

At the same time, Ayn and Milgasa, now in avatar form, came running up. They were still short of breath.

"What was that for?" demanded Ayn, half gasping, and half screaming with rage at Lina.

"My orders." replied Luna. Something about her tone checked Ayn's anger...

"Why?" Ayn asked in a quieter voice. "You gave the goldens a chance."

"They were killing people already." was Luna's reply.

"They didn't have your warning saying they couldn't." responded Ayn.

Luna was silent for a time, then said "I had to make another one of my snap decisions. I am sorry, Ayn..."

Ayn was silent for awhile. Finally she nodded, then, with sadness in her voice, she said "You aren't yourself lately, Luna, I hope you get better soon. Anyway, we've got company..."

Then she gasped and quietly said "Oh no..."

There was no time to ask what she meant as the leaders of the dragons approached, looking like they were ready for a fight. The group drew together, defensively.

"Were you not the Knight of Ceiphied I would kill you out of hand for this!" spat the head leader, his voice thick with venom.

"Were I not the Knight of Ceiphied this wouldn't have happened." replied Luna in a matter of fact voice. "Anyway, where do you get off thinking you can threaten, and fight, humans like this and get off Scott free?" she asked.

"They attacked us." was the reply.

"The Zephilians would not have attacked you unless you threatened them somehow." she said.

"Hmph! We felt the approaching presence of some golden bastards and settled down to organise. We have the right."

Luna shook her head. "You ruined crops, threatening starvation, and worse, profits, and you think you were wronged? Amazing."

"Well, no sense talking to you, human, you are too aligned with your own kind to be impartial. Some representative of Ceiphied you are." sneered the dragon commander.

"Think what you want." was all Luna said in reply.

"Just stop it, Raltack. Please." said Ayn, addressing the dragon commander.

The commander glared at Ayn as the humans and Milgasa gave her a puzzled look. She seemed to know this dragon?

Raltack spoke. "Taking her side now are you, Ayn? It wasn't enough you abandoned us to pay lip service to Ceiphied, now you side with humans against your own?"

"Abandon you?" gasped Ayn. "Lip service? Take sides? How typical. You always did this to me. Fine, pick on me like you always have, but listen to what Lady Luna has to say, this is important." She seemed very hurt.

"You know him?" asked Milgasa.

Before Ayn could answer the dragon commander let out a snarl. "Talking with the enemy now, Ayn? Have you completely become a traitor to all you were born to be?" he demanded, almost roaring.

"Oh be quiet, Raltack. Lord Milgasa is helping the Lady Luna, as am I. Of course I'm going to talk to him." shouted Ayn back.

"Uh, guys..." said Luna in a no nonsense tone.

Then Lina got a shock. The two dragons...

Simply ignored her sister...

That was possible???

Raltack shoved his massive head near to Ayn's smaller human form. He let a heavy breath from his nostrils blow over her. She replied by spitting in his face.

"Jilted lovers?" mused Lemmy.

Raltack considered Ayn with half lidded eyes. "Normally, when a female insults a male like that she should get some sense belted into her. But in this case, I'll just do the right thing and tattle to mom and dad. Someone might finally get disowned..." he said in a very dangerous voice.

"Sibling rivalry." said Luna, replying to Lemmy.

Lina's eyes opened wide. She knew that she and Luna weren't the only siblings to have troubles, but somehow she had never, ever, suspected Ayn would, or even could, have them.

"I was always, and still am, able to kick your ass from here to eternity, little brother. Do what you want. But just remember, you can run, but you can't hide. And I'm not the one voted the, how do the humans say it, the black sheep of the family. I'd watch who tried to disown whom." sneered Ayn. She terminated the conversation by turning her back on her brother and walking away.

"Then die first!" yelled Raltack after her, taking in a deep breath to launch a flame attack.

"Lord Raltack! No!" shouted his dragon followers, but he heeded them not.

Ayn turned to defend herself. Luna was even quicker, her sword was already unsheathed.

Suddenly she stopped. "what am I thinking?" she asked out loud. Ayn gave her a quick glance, not sure what Luna was doing. Even Raltack held his breath to see if he needed his fire blast for another target.

Luna simply smiled, turned and tapped Lemmy. "Your on..." she said.

Lemmy's response was instant. With a scream of pure psychopathic joy she launched herself at the surprised dragon commander with an attack so fast that his fire breath missed her completely. She landed on her opponent's nose and dealt a blow with the bar of her sword onto his helmet, driving it down and temporarily half blinding him. The force of the blow also forced Raltack to have to regain his balance, preventing him from flicking Lemmy off with a shake of his head. This let her leap up and over his head.

She came down on his shoulders and immediately drove her Estoc into the Dragon's shouder, piercing armour and scale alike as she sank her pointed blade into his flesh. Raltack gave a roar and immediately snapped at Lemmy with his teeth. Lemmy lept back, and immediately discovered a flaw in her plans. Silly her, Raltack was too big to be fataly wounded like that. And worse, he had squeezed his shoulder muscles together, and trapped her blade...

She fought to keep her balance on Raltack's back, and tried to think of how to regain her sword. In desperation she launched a flying kick at the dragon's nose and actually caught him by surprise. He backed off, just a bit, but it was enough to loosen the grip on the sword and let her pull it out, using all her strength. Lemmy realise her only chance was to stay on his back so he wouldn't burn her, but, to kill him she needed to get to his head and sink her sword into his neck at the base of his skull, severing his spinal cord.

What to do?

On the other hand, she WAS Lemmy Martin.

Showing no fear she went back and forth with Raltack and for several minutes she managed to stay on his back, giving as good, or better, as she got, but at the same time she was never able to get to his head.

Ayn kept yelling at them to stop and Luna went over to her. "Ayn, I can't stop Raltack, he won't listen to me. But if you can get him to stop I will stop Miss Lemmy, I promise."

Ayn was silent then said quietly, her voice as heavy with grief as her eyes were with tears, "Who am I fooling? He won't stop. My little brother dies today, or we do, he won't be satisfied with just killing Miss Lemmy."

Milgasa put an arm around her and said "Let me take you away so you need not see."

Ayn shook him off and said "I'm his family, I must stay. Please, I might be needed..."

They watched.

Lemmy was getting tired, and that's when Raltack decided he had his chance. Having spent the last long while only snapping at her he figured she was lulled into forgetting he also had...

A tail!

He now brought it up, gave a good snap with his teeth at Lemmy to drive her back, then smacked her with his tail, and succeeded in knocking her to the ground.

"Raltack! NO!" shouted Ayn again, waiting for him to toast the young woman as she sprawled on the ground.

But Raltack had other ideas. He lunged at her, snapping his jaws. He was going to eat her!

Eww...

But, as has been pointed out, she WAS Lemmy Martin.

At the last second, she rolled over and in some impossible seeming way actually leapt up so she was lodged in his mouth. Raltack was caught by surprise and actually hesitated for a second as he tried not to gag.

A second too long. A metal spike suddenly shot through the back of his head. His eyes rolled back, he gave a strangled gurgle, and then he thrashed on the ground for a long time. Miraculously, he didn't bite.

Lemmy had finally found a way to get to his spinal cord.

As Raltack stopped jerking, Ayn sank to the ground overcome with grief. The dragons under his command seemed to deflate and show fear, finally, for Luna and her humans. But it was Gourry who actually acted first. He dashed forward and managed to wrench Raltack's jaws open. He reached in and pulled a throughly blood soaked Lemmy from that horrible mouth. She was so overcome with the blood from the dragon that she was almost drowned. Gourry helped her to her hands and knees and let her cough and choke the blood up.

"That, was amazing!" he congratulated her.

Amelia clicked in to gear and cast a Recovery spell on her, which helped a lot. Finally she was able to sit up and look around blearily. She turned to Luna. "Thanks! I needed that!" she grinned. Then, seeing no one else was, she let her grin fade. "Hey?" she asked.

Luna came up and helped her to her feet, then gave her a big hug. "You were perfect, Miss Lemmy. Another evil doer gone. Alas, he happened to be my poor Ayn's brother, and your great victory has been tainted with Bittersweet..." she explained.

Lemmy nodded. "Okay, I get it." she said. With that she stood up, staggered a bit, patted Gourry's shoulder, and said "Amazing eh? Coming from you, Mr. Swordsman of Light, I'll take that as a complement, thanks." She then walked over to Raltack, reached into his mouth, gave a great heave, and recovered her sword.

And promptly licked it...

After that, she went to where the group was. "I wish I could say something, but what?" she asked Amelia, nodding to Ayn.

Amelia gave her a sad smile. "Just apologise, but wait for the right time." she advised.

Luna then took Lina and went forward to tell the black dragons what she had told the golden ones earlier. There was a stirring, and the black dragons flew off to the west as they went to deliver Luna's message. Finally, the Slayers were alone in the gathering gloom.

Then the humans returned from the safe distance they had been keeping watch from...

A small blonde woman ran in and went right to Ayn, scooping her up and hugging her deeply. Ayn accepted the woman's touch and wept heavily upon her breast. Luna and Lina returned and Gourry joined them. A tall, black haired man stepped in as well.

"Well, well, you two, quite the show, as always..." he said. The girls hugged him as Amelia and Lemmy looked on, wondering who he was. They got their answer.

"Thanks daddy!" they both said, grabbing the man into a big group hug. Even Gourry got pulled in to it.

And with that, they went home... 


	27. Chapter 29

Morning came and a red eyed Ayn was found sitting at the table by the early risers, namely Luna and her mom.

Mother Inverse immediatley went and hugged her. "Oh my, oh my, what ever can we do for you, Ayn? There is no magic for this pain..."

"I do regret that I didn't have a better plan." said Luna.

"There wasn't one to be had..." sighed Ayn from the depths of the hug.

"War is pain, and terminally stupid." said Milgasa from the back of the room. They hadn't noticed him, but he had apparently been keeping vigil with Ayn, there for her, but a respectful distance away to give her her privacy.

Luna nodded. "Does anyone want any tea?" she asked.

There was a general "yes" all around, so she bustled around and soon had the kettle heating. "I wonder what I should make Lina for breakfast..." she mused.

Her mother replied "You've wondered that ever since you were old enough to do so, Luna. Tell me, how are you two getting along?"

"It'd be a lie to say we're great, but I think things have started to change. And you musn't thing that I don't love her..." she sighed.

"In otherwords, not a lot better..." said Ayn, slowly sitting up. "I'm sorry, mom, I haven't been able to watch over them like you asked..."

"It's okay, Ayn." the woman replied. "It never really was up to you. They have to do it for themselves. Or not, as they see fit. I just hoped being with Lina might make Luna open up about what's really going on deep inside, down in the part she won't even show me." She looked sad.

Luna apparently didn't hear her...

A few minutes later Lemmy came into the room, looking bright and alert. "Oh hey! Good Morning everyone." she enthused. Then she looked at Ayn and slumped a bit. "Uh, say, Miss Ayn, there is never going to be a good time to say this, especially from me, but I am sorry that my actions hurt you..." she said with a bow.

Ayn just nodded. Lemmy actually looked a bit guilty as she went to find a seat somewhere out of sight. As she did so, Amelia appeared from somewhere. She looked sleepy, or maybe bleary was a better word, but she gave everyone a good morning. She went over and joined Lemmy. Luna had the water ready and soon everyone had their tea. She set an extra cup aside.

On cue, her father strode into the room, all freshly shaven, dressed, and with his practice sword in hand. "Mornin' girly!" he said, grabbing Luna into a hug as she presented the extra cup of tea.

Luna's mom smiled, that was a father and daughter ritual that had gone on in one form or another since Luna had been born, but it always warmed her heart to see her husband love his daughter.

Daughters.

"Ya ready to practice?' he asked her. That was another ritual, the father and daughter, both being swords people, would spar regularly, first thing in the morning, after tea, but before food.

"Not today, daddy, I'm sorry. But I think Miss Lemmy over there could give you a go for your money." was the smiled reply.

"You mean I have to pay for it now?" said her father, pretending to sound confused.

"Smart ass..." said his wife, as she kissed him and shoved him towards the backyard where they always trained.

"M-may I?" asked Lemmy enthusiastically, as she stood up and bowed to Luna's father, looking over towards Luna as if for confirmation.

"Hey, it's up to you and daddy." was Luna's reply as she started working on breakfast.

Lemmy and Luna's father exchanged some kind words, and soon they were outside. A few seconds later some rather enthusiastic shouting was heard, followed by a clash of wooden weapons, and battle was joined.

"Oh, I do hope they don't wake Lina and Gourry..." smiled mother Inverse as she started to help her daughter with the breakfast.

Luna smirked. "If all went as I suspect it did, I don't think that's going to wake them..."

"Luna!" said her mother, pretending to be shocked. Amelia giggled as she came over. "May I help?" she asked.

Soon there were three women chatting away as they made a meal, two people outside fighting up a storm, and two quiet dragons sitting in a corner, drinking tea. In it's own odd way everything was normal at the Inverse house.

Then...

"You had another challenger looking for you." said Mom.

"Bloody hell, I'm getting sick of that." said Luna. "Well, did he look rich, or cocky? Can I gouge him for a hefty fee?"

P-pardon?" asked Amelia.

"Word has gotten out that there is this girl in Zephilia who is a hotshot swordswoman, and every now and again some young blade shows up thinking to make a name for himself, and it's always a guy, by besting me." explained Luna. "I tried to say "no" at first, but they kept coming, so I took to charging them. I usually tell them to go and spend so much money at mom and dad's grocery store, and then we will play. If something needs shifting I might tell him he has to buy certain products. If he's rich, or a real snot, I make sure to charge him lots. I think I charged a guy who was both a million gold once. And he paid it. I made sure to take him down with the first swing too..." There was something unpleasant in her smile as she said that...

"This was your first woman dear." said her mother. "And I don't like her looks one little bit, to be honest. No sword, tall, slinky to the point of slutty, blonde, and smoking a cigarette in a long holder. And she gave off an aura that seemed, well, inhuman somehow. Bestial even. Said something about wondering if you wanted a rematch, and that she had possibly had too much advantage on her island when you tried your, uh, "home invasion". Luna, who is she, I've never been afraid like this before."

Luna looked shocked."How long ago?" she asked in a tight voice.

Luna's mother looked worried. "Is she really bad news?" she asked.

"Did she give a name?" asked Ayn as she came over, looking very worried.

"Is there any question?" asked Luna.

"Two days ago, then, after doing one more thing, she just dissappeared." said mom.

"S-she sounds dangerous." said Amelia quietly. "But, you have justice on your side..."

Luna gave a grim smile. "I don't think Greater Beast ZellasMetallium gives a rat's ass for human justice, Princess..." she said.

Luna's mom looked faint. "That's who I feared it was..." she said quietly, as Ayn and Luna helped her to a chair that Milgasa had brough over quickly.

"Oh, oh my, the Beastmaster?" said an excited Amelia.

"The same." said Luna.

Amelia turned away suddenly. She choked out "Mr. Zelgadiss. Miss Sylphiel."

"Yes..." said Ayn quietly.

"So!" said Amelia fiercely, as she suddenly turned around. "She seeks to press an advantage, hoping to find you emotionally weak."

"Good strategy on her part." replied Luna calmly. She turned to her mother. "Did she say how I was to reach her about this?" she asked.

"No, only that she'd check back when she was ready. Then she apparently went and upset Her Majesty before she dissappeared. Oh Luna, I do hope this doesn't mean trouble."

"You tell me." said Luna. "We did invade her island, sort of. We were looking for Filia, but found her instead. There was a bad fight, two of our nuber didn't survive, those of us who did had our asses handed to us without the dignity of a silver platter, and were lucky to get out alive. Yeah, I suppose she could take it as an act of war. Listen, this has made up my mind, I'm sorry everyone, but we better go back to Seirune. Not only will it draw her away from here, but more importantly, the white magic of the city might weaken her and give us a better chance if she shows up. No rest, I'm afraid." she said, with a sad smile.

"Well, you will stay for breakfast atleast?" her mother asked.

Luna smiled. "Yes, and we'll even stay for Lina's breakfast." she said.

"And lunch." said Ayn, sounding faintly humourous.

Soon after, Lemmy, and Luna's father, came in. Both were sweating profusely from the work out, and both had big satisfied grins on their faces. "Hah! If Luna's going to be to busy from now on, can we adopt this one, dear? She's positively amazing!" said Father Inverse.

Lemmy giggled and blushed. She shot a perfectly charming, maybe too charming, smile at her sparring partner "Oh, come now..." she said. But you could tell she liked the praise. "We must do this again." she said to him.

"I'd like it." smiled Dad.

"Just don't like it too much..." said Mom, getting between Lemmy and her husband.

"Huh?" said Lemmy, not sure what was going on.

"My dear...?" said Luna's dad, sounding a bit put out.

Luna giggled.

"The food's ready..." said Ayn, helping Amelia set it out.

The family gathered around and began to eat, and eat.

And eat.

Well, it was a typical Inverse household breakfast...

As they were finishing up there was a thumping down the stairs and a disheveled Lina burst in. "AAAAAHHHH! Gourry, get down here, the've eaten it all!" she wailed looking at the empty table.

Her husband wandered in behind her, looking a little more put together. "Heya everyone!" he said cheerfully.

"How? How could you have eaten it all?" said Lina, tears welling in her eyes. "Mommy? Daddy? Big sister?" she sniveled, looking at the same time pathetically and accusingly at her family.

"Hey! We helped!" boasted Amelia, pointing at Lemmy and herself.

Lina looked at them, and lost it. "WAHHHH!!!" she cried, setting up a terrible din.

Meanwhile, Gourry just followed his nose to the warming cupboard, and helped himself to some of the set aside plates of ready breakfast. As Lina was setting up a storm, he cheerfully plunked down beside his father in law and said "Hey, dad, was that Miss Lemmy you were playing with this morning? It didn't sound like the style you and Luna usually do."

"Hey you got it! You should try a round with her yourself if you haven't already." said Lina's dad enthusiastically. "She's about as good as Luna, though without the Ceiphied part..."

"You mean I might get lucky?" Gourry asked with a chuckle.

"Hmmmmm..." replied Lina's dad.

Then, Lina was there, yelling...

"What is all this? You jellyfish!!! Don't you know you are supposed to serve your wife first? And make sure she's had enough before you even touch a bite?" she shouted, grabbing all of Gourry's plates away.

"Oi Lina! There's plenty more in the warming cupboard, and you were too busy having fun with the others." Gourry insisted, grabbing some of the food back. With that, the race was on. The one who finished first got to go to the warming cupboard first, and pig out on whatever he or she could before the other one got there...

Lemmy sweatdropped. "Th-they do this at home, too?" she asked.

"It's for show..." sighed Luna.

"Only some of it..." corrected Amelia.

Breakfast went quickly, which was good,for just as Lina and Gourry were arguing about the last scraps there was a knock at the door. Dad got up and opened it. Standing before him was a richly dressed woman. She was tall, with dark hair. The strangest thing was that she looked young, but seemed impossibly old, somehow.

His jaw dropped and he stuttered for a second. True, this Lady had visited them before, on occasion, but still, it wasn't every day you were visited by...

"Your Majesty!" he said, finally, as he backed way and gave a low bow. The rest of the room fell silent and looked over to the door.

Into the room stepped the Eternal Queen of Zephilia...

Everyone stood up and bowed, even Lemmy who didn't quite get what was going on but figured it was important.

In the middle of all the formality the back door banged open and a cheerful Spot walked in with two heavy barrels over his shoulders. "Hey boss! You're back!" he called to Luna. This was followed immediatley by an "oops!" as he realsied what was happening.

The Queen chuckled. "Good Morning Mr. Spot." she said cheerfully. "And everyone, please, if you are done being formal, get up. It's so hard to talk to the tops of people's heads.

The room went back to normal, or as close as it could get, under the circumstances, and a chair was set up for Her Majesty. "C-can we get you anything?" asked mother Inverse, attempting to play the hostess.

"Tea." was the reply. "If Luna's made it thick enough."

"Nope..." said Lina, letting her spoon clink against her cup.

"Why does everyone want me to make tea that's undrinkable?" asked an exasperated Luna as she perfectly poured the Queen a perfect cup of perfect tea.

"We like it that way?" asked the Queen, which drew a sigh from Luna.

The Queen then turned to Amelia. "I see we are just full of Royalty around here this morning, Princess."

Amelia gave a little chuckle. "Well, you know, palaces can be so stuffy, one likes to get out to see the peasants and other beasts of burden from time to time..." she joked.

Lina shot her a hard look, but said nothing...

"Oh, so true, so true..." chuckled the Queen, giving Lina a smile and a wink, which caused the redhead to blush and drop her head respectfully.

Father Inverse got up and helped Spot with his load of barrels. Anything to get out from under.

Mother Inverse settled in to keep watch and make sure what ever protocols could be observed, were...

Luna didn't seem so phased, but she had met the Queen more than anyone else in the family.

Gourry just sat beside Lina, smiling. Either he was being inscrutable, or just zoning out.

Amelia had no qualms about sitting next to the Royal Lady, while Ayn and Milgasa sat in the background, just listening.

The Queen fixed that by looking over to Ayn and saying "I have heard of your tragedy Lady Ayn, I am truely sorry. Is there anything that I can have done?"

Ayn nodded and said, with a deep breath "It was not really a question of if, so much as when, Your Majesty. I thank you for your kindness, but my family should return for the body today, if not, leave it for the birds if you can, that is our custom, or do what you must."

"I will do that then." said the Queen, gently.

"I beg your pardon for jumping protocol," said Luna.

"But what do I want?" smirked the Queen. "Yeah, yeah, protocol sucks at times."

"Oh doesn't it just?" said Amelia.

"Well, if I may make as bold as you," said the Queen to Luna, "tell me why Beastmaster wants to know if I'm declaring war on her by, and I quote, "sending "Team Inverse to rocket in on the backs of dragons and attack her"?"

"Oh, that..." said Luna trying to sound like it was a mild thing, and failing.

With that she, and Lina, told the story of their adventure from the time Lina showed up to announce her engaement to the present morning.

When they were done the Queen sat awhile and then slowly nodded. Then she said "If Beastmaster returns what answer shall I give? I suspect that she was having fun in her own way at my expense, but she does regard WolfPack Island as her own domain and might just take it into her head to be serious about this. There are many stout warriors, and powerful mages here in Zephilia, still, I don't know that I'd fancy going up against her in an all out war. Especially now, when there would be no chance of the dragons aiding us because of their own troubles."

"I will speak to daddy when I get home." said Amelia at this point. "I have no doubt that Seirune would not want a band of warrior mazoku on it's northern boarder, and we could make common cause."

The Queen seemed in thought for a minute, then admitted "If it comes to all out war, I would need your help, against her. But I hope it won't come to that."

Luna spoke up. "You tell her the truth, that this is a mission that Lina and I have taken on for our own purposes, and that we have made it clear to you that we will not obey even your direct order to stop, as we are working the will of Ceiphied. Then ask her what reassurance you can give that you are not involved in this, and if you can meet it, do it. If not, let me know as soon as possible. We will leave today, I hope it will draw her gaze south to Seirune. Alas Princess, I am so sorry, but as I have said earlier I must hope your Kingdom's powerful white magic can be a deterent to her attacking."

Lina, who had been silent up till now, said "I don't think open war is her usual strategy, Your Majesty. Threatening is, but I find that, except for the now deceased Gaav, the mazoku lords prefer to sneak around behind the scenes. I would be ready for dirty cheap shots designed to hurt, as much as for war, though maybe Beastmaster is powerfull enough not to want to lower herself."

"You have had much experience with the High lords of the mazoku world, Lina, and I will trust you in this. After all, you did destroy Hellmaster. But, can you do it again?"

"And speaking of experience with the mazoku high lords, you tell mom the truth right now Lina. I insist! Before we forget." Luna suddenly ordered.

"N-now? In front of her Highness?" asked a stunned Lina.

"She knows what you told us, Lina, tell her the truth too. Please."

Everyone looked around, uncertain of what was to be made of this. Ayn just sighed in the background, too heart broken to do anything else. Except to allow Milgasa to gently put a comforting arm around her...

Lina sighed, and then retold the story of her battle with Hellmaster. This time she told where the Gigaslave really went. Her mother gave a scream then lept up and hugged her. "Oh my baby."

"I-It's okay, mom." Lina stasmmered. She reached around and grabbed Gourry's hand. He gave a little snort that seemed suspiciously like he was waking up...

"Gourry saved me. I was alright. I've always been alright when he's with me." she said quietly.

"Huh?" said Gourry, followed by an "Ooofff..." as his mother in law grabbed him into a big hug. "Uh, right..." he said, trying to look like he knew what was going on...

"Pay attention, Jellyfish..." Lina growled at him.

Of course, this just had the effect of making the Queen laugh...

"Oh my Lina, now I see why you were chosen to power the mighty and famous Piku-Piku Lina-chan."

Lina gave a strangled scream. "Yes, and does Your Highness enjoy her?" she asked, thumping her face on the table in a vain attempt to hide her embarassment.

"Oh yes, it's so wonderful to have an actual souvenier from one of the adventures of Zephilia's second most famous Inverse sister.

"It warms my heart no end that Your majesty is pleased..." moaned Lina, her face still on the table.

"Oh! And does it still make the little pooty noises when it walks?" asked Amelia excitedly

"Pooty noises?" asked the Queen.

"WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT???!!!" shrieked a now thoroughly redfaces Lina as she raised her head to face Amelia, who cringed back.

"There, there, Lina..." said Gourry helpfully. Then he asked "What's a Piku Piku Lina-chan?"

"LATER!" shouted lina, now causing poor Gourry to jump. then she caught herself, and calmed down, sort of. "Later, later, much later..." she said. She turned her gaze back to Amelia.

The Justice Princess gulped. "Uh, Gracia wrote home about it a long time ago. She wrote such a good account that you'd almost think she had taken part in it. She must have been in the crowd or something. There was this beautiful "Grand Goddess" golem being powered by a magnificent and powerful Sorceress named, um, what was her name, oh gee..."

"WALKING DEAD WOMAN!" answered Lina, hotly.

"Uh, I-I'm sorry, Miss Lina, sh-should I not be telling this?" she said, sounding afraid.

"No, do go on. I insist." smirked Luna, immediately causing Lina's face to go from red to a much lighter shade of pale.

"N-no, it's okay..." Lina said, very quietly, glancing over at Luna...

Her mother sighed.

"Oh I remember!" said Amelia, as she warmed back up to the story. "It was Naga the Serpent!"

With that, she launched into a full description of the golem fight Lina had been forced to participate in all those years ago, against her self styled "greatest rival", whom Amelia's sister seemed to mysteriously have a very high opinion of. Of course, the tale was complete with the description of the golems, the very impresive and life like "Grand Goddess" and the clownish and cutesy "Piku Piku Lina-chan", each powered by a real sorceress. And of course, Lina's golem was described completly, right down to the cute little "pooty" noises she made when she walked.

"Those damned noises were the real reason Garia imprisioned me inside that thing to begin with." wailed Lina, totally mortified now. "Thank you sooooo much, Amelia, for reminding me of my shame..."

"Well, maybe you wouldn't have been so ashamed if you didn't cheat in order to win..." said Amelia, helpfully.

Lina went several shades of several different colours. Some of them weren't even in the rainbow." I... Did... WHAT???" she shrieked at Amelia who gave a terrified little scream and lept away from the table,looking ready to run for her life.

"N-n-now Lina, uh, that's what we were told..." she wimpered. "You were supposed to stay in the golem and take your punishment, but you broke out and destroyed everything with a Dragon Slave..."

"And that's the other reason I bought the thing." said the Queen. "The money helped them rebuild, and it avoided a war..."

"W-war???" said a quieter and more puzzled Lina.

"They threatened war if Zephilia didn't make reparations for the damaged you caused." was the reply. "It's not the first time we've been threatened by various kingdoms because of your actions either. But this time they seemed sincere. So, I cut a deal and bought the golem for a hefty price, and that settled it peacefully. But I don't think I can do the same with Zelas. You and your honoured sister will have to handle this one, I'm afraid."

"Y-y-yes, Your Majesty..." said Lina quietly as she sat back down. She realised she had made people mad at her with her actions throughout her life, but, she never thought that anyone would run and demand payment from her Queen because of it. She really was going to have to stop being so impulsive.

Or do a better job...

"Well," said the Queen, rising, "I must go. Luna we must take tea sometime when this is over, but, farewell for now, and may Ceiphied guide and guard you."

Luna bowed."I give thanks to Your Majesty." she replied formally.

"Oh, stop it..." said the Queen with a sigh. Then she was out the door.

"Well, it's not everyday the Eternal Queen comes to call, is it? said mother Inverse.

"Why is she called that?" asked Lemmy, who had been silent through the whole visit.

Luna explained "Well, about a thousand years ago, during the Kouma Sensou, or the "War of the Monster's Fall", as it's more commonly known, the great Dragon Lord that was known as the Aqua Lord was destroyed and broken into pieces. Most died, but some survived. One became the Claire Bible. Lord Milgasa and my sister can tell you more than even I know about that. Another piece fell to earth and managed to survive for two hundred years until a young woman found it. It absorbed in to her, and since then she has not aged. That woman is the Eternal Queen." (1)

"Oh. Bitchin'..." said Lemmy, sounding a bit awe struck.

"Ayn, we need to go, will you be alright?" Luna gently asked her squire.

"Of course." said Ayn in a matter of fact voice.

And so, a short time later, two dragons rose into the sky again, carrying their passengers south to Seirune.

That same morning, in a different part of the world, a young couple said a rather emotional goodby to some new friends who had come to mean very much to them. They used their magic and flew north to Seirune. Along the way they made one stop. Zel insisted.

When they again rose in the air to fly they each had on the ring finger of their left hand a wedding ring set with an emerald.

"They match your eyes, and the green flash." Zel had explained as he slipped the ring on Sylphiel's hand. She had insisted on wearing it on the correct finger, despite the fact that she was missing the finger next to it.

"Then let it be our colour, Zel." she had replied. "The colour of life, and of hope..."

Zel was only too happy to agree.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

(1) This is canon! 


	28. Chapter 30

They took off in the morning with the sun becoming strong. For a time there was silence. Luna seemed especially keen on drinking in what sights she could get from her beloved homeland as she flew over it.

At one point she asked Ayn to fly next to Milgasa. When they were there she shouted "Hey Lina!" and pointed down. "Deadwater Bay!" Lina grinned helplessly...

Below them was a vast expanse of water. "Lina carved that out with a Dragon Slave. Fish won't live in it to this day." said Luna, explaining it to Lemmy and Amelia. Amelia looked puzzled. "I've seen Miss, er I mean, Lina's Dragon Slaves before, they can't carve a crater anywhere near this big." she said, taking in the water below her. "And the one's where she's blown a hole by some water always have fish in them. YOu sure it was a Dragon Slave?"

Luna was silent as she looked down yet again, then in a dark tone she said "Not any more... Sis, you little liar. So, that was your first Giga Slave was it?"

Well, she'd get the truth eventually, after they landed.

The Slayers gang arrived in the later part of the afternoon. The sun was still warm, but there was the faintest hint of evening.

"We are here, and we stay here." said Luna. It was a statement of fact more than a command. This was followed by her grabbing Lina's ear and asking her, sternly "Deadwater Bay, was it or was it not a Dragon Slave. And you better tell the truth..." she said to the squacking younger woman while ignoring Gourry's protests.

Lina yelped and tried to pull free. "Please Luna, I didn't want to get beaten harder so I lied. You're right, it was a Giga Slave, my very first one. Please, I'm sorry, I was a kid then." she said.

"Alright, crybaby, you live this time, but have Gourry give you a good spanking, okay?" she said, ruffling Lina's hair like she meant it.

which, of course, she did...

"Sheesh..." said Gourry as he hugged his wife.

Amelia went off to find her father and discuss what had happened in Zephilia with him. The others went to their assigned rooms, or found other quiet places, and basically did what they could to unwind.

Well, Lemmy went to the practice fields so maybe that wasn't so quiet...

Luna went to the library after she had rested a bit and began studying Beastmaster. She now felt that the mazoku leader was the key, Filia wouldn't be able to do what she was doing without her help, and maybe, just barely maybe, if Luna could make Beastmaster into a threat, the dragons would make common cause and stop their war.

About the time that lead bricks started to fly aerodynamically...

She sighed. She felt restless. She needed to do something to lift her spirits, but what? Yelling at Lina had always used to help in the past, but sis had removed that option. Darned Gourry...

She smiled at that. Nah, Lina was doing everything just right. It was Luna who had the problem. As her mother had observed.

That had hurt.

And not the least because there was truth in it. But, mom wouldn't understand...

No. Not gonna go there...

She got up and walked around the palace, enjoying the various types of art used to decorate the place. Some of it was extremely beautiful too. Eventually her walk took her near the practice filed where she saw Lemmy going through her routines. That's what she needed, action.

"Miss Lemmy, how is your practice going?" she asked the blackhaired swordswoman.

Lemmy took a few seconds to finish executing a perfect pass before she stopped, smiled and bowed to Luna. "Oh, it's okay. Not like killing real things that need killing though. Speaking of which, how's Miss Ayn? I'm sorry my actions caused her grief, but that brother of hers was a nasty bit of work. Thanks for giving him to me." she said.

Luna smiled. "You are welcome." she thought for a minute,then said "I wonder if I could have found a different way to deal with him, if I had had more time? Under the circumstances I didn't think I had a choice. Miraculously, Ayn somehow understands this, and accepts it, though it has hurt her deeply. She never fails to amaze me."

Luna stopped and was thoughtfull for a bit more. Then she sighed. "In truth, I think the time is here for her to move on in her life. I hope she doesn't make it a hard and fast rule that she will serve me until I die. I think I see something beautiful developing between her and Lord Milgasa, though for dragons to intermarry is even rarer than with humans. But it's her call. I can say for certain that she won't leave until this mission with Miss Filia is over. Anyway, it's not in my hands."

Then she smiled at Lemmy. "Speaking of the mission, something that is in my hands is making sure that everyone is ready. If you are going to fight with us against Beastmaster, Miss Lemmy, you need to be at the top of your game, and so do I. You seemed to enjoy sparring with my daddy this morning, and he was full of praise for you, something he doesn't hand out to just anyone. I could use some practice too, care to show me what ya got?"

Lemmy grinned like the maniac she was. "May I?" she asked, stepping back and getting into a fighting stance, her wooden sword at the ready.

Luna smiled. "Just give me a second to grab a bo-ken." she said as she walked over to a rack containing some wooden practice swords. She found one she liked and gave Lemmy a rather maniacal grin of her own. Suddenly, she whipped the sword around and ran screaming at her sparring partner.

Lemmy met the charge with one of her own, yes, with screaming, and there was a tremendous crash at the wooden swords met. Lemmy actually managed to parry Luna's initial attack, which was no mean feat. Still, it only took Luna a few strokes to put the other girl on the defensive, a position Lemmy was never able to break free of for the rest of the bout. But Luna had to admit that Lemmy was just about the best fighter she had ever crossed a blade with. Ha! some of those assholes she had fought with over the years should see this!

Eventually Luna and Lemmy managed to clinch. As they looked at each other from less than a foot away. Luna asked, smiling wickedly, "Care to try steel?"

"Since the moment I met you..." was Lemmy's reply, given with an equally wicked smile of her own.

The women disengaged, bowed and went to opposite sides to prepare.

"H-hey! You sh-shouldn't do that without a referee!" shouted a man who had been watching them all this time from the sidelines. Luna shot him a withering sneer. He promptly ran off.

Luna called up a fairly standard hand and a half bastard sword who's main magical property was that it could be hidden away until needed. Lemmy naturally chose her favourite, the katana she called "Jack". She gave him a good lick.

Strange...

The opponents came close enough to cross the tips of their blades. They stared at each other, relaxing into their stances, centering their hearts and minds. For a time nothing happened.

Then suddenly there were two simultaneous screams and the warriors let fly. A might "CLANG" resonated throught the training yard as steel clashed with steel. In a second the women became whirling and flashing blurs, their swords moving so fast that they were invisible at times. There were some more clangs, a few sparks, and several full, powerful screams. As before it was only a few strokes and Lemmy was back on the defensive, but she was holding her own in that position very well.

The area around the training field was quickly filled with onlookers. The action was so intense that there wasn't even any betting. Alerted by the man who had run off Lina was quickly there with Gourry. "W-what are they doing?" she asked, horrified.

"Practicing with real steel." said Gourry, matter of factly.

"That's crazy..." was Lina's reponse.

A few seconds later Ayn and Milgasa joined them. Ayn seemed shocked, no doubt because of what she had witnessed the previous day when her brother had been killed. She said nothing, it wasn't a squire's place, but this time she let Milgasa lead her away.

The action went back and forth around the training area with impressive displays on the part of both combatants. Sword met sword, thrust met parry, it was a wonder the steel could take the shocks as the weapons hammered together. Luna was always on the ofensive, and didn't give Lemmy any ground, but Lemmy was always able to slip slide out of anything thrown at her and be ready for the next attack. It was really a matter of who would make the first mistake, or tire first.

There came a lull as the women panted for breath while eyeing each other up. They were sweaty, and panting, but they still exhibited a lot of energy. the fight could go on for a while yet.

Then...

"Want to go all the way?" asked Luna.

"Hum?" replied Lemmy.

"Your choice, first blood, or submission?"

Lemmy grinned. "I always did like submission. Other people's that is... No holds barred, short of death?" she asked in her turn.

"Sounds good to me..." smirked Luna.

"LEMMY!!!" yelled Lina at the top of her lungs. "NO!!!" She broke from the crowd and ran towards the fighters. Gourry pounded after her to make sure she didn't get hurt.

"Hey?" asked Lemmy, confused.

"What now?" asked a thoroughly annoyed Luna.

Lina got up to them. "Lemmy, it's lunacy to fight sis at all, but if you have to, go with "first blood." You might have an accidental chance, submission is her specialty! Believe me, I know..." she panted, giving Lemmy a fearful look.

Lemmy looked puzzled, first at Lina, then at Luna.

Lua glared at Lina with a withering look. "If you don't want me to use you for a graphic demonstration, get the hell out of here, NOW!" she barked.

Lina backed off, pale with fear. Gourry lead her back.

Lemmy gave Luna a thoughtful look.

"Sorry, sis is a bad loser." said Luna. About what she said, I presumed you had thought of that when you made your choice. If you want, you can change it now."

Lemmy smiled a little smile. "I had, and I stick by my first decision. But I am honoured your sister thought I was worthy of being warned. I shall do my best to prove her belief was not in vain."

Luna smiled." Then I will certainly do my best as well." she said.

"Formalities..." sighed Gourry on the sidelines.

As if two people in a serious fight would do less than their best...

The girls crossed their blade tips again.

Two sudden screams, but this time they seemed to come from the spirit, not just the lungs...

There was one hugh resounding ring, as if a great bell had been struck, and an enormous spark. The fight was joined in earnest. As before, the girls went back and forth with Luna giving and Lemmy taking. This time there was a new element though. They weren't just crossing swords, they were fighting all out, for real, the only bar being a fatal injury. Now they swung, not just steel, but also punches and kicks. Soon both fighters were bloodied. Amazingly it was Lemmy that drew first blood. Lina shook her head. Someone was bound to break a sword, or a bone, or both at this rate.

Or a neck...

The blood seemed to get to Luna, she didn't yell as much, but she seemed to go into a bit of a trance. Her movements became what could only be described as "otherworldly". Perfect. Deadly. Now Lemmy was hard pressed just to defend herself, there was no more grace for her. She grimaced and backed off and twisted and rolled, always just ahead of Luna's blade.

Just ahead.

Lina grew fearful. Sis was pressing her too hard for a friendly match, submission or not. And what was wrong with Lemmy? She was tired, bloodied, sore, and even afraid, but she would not yeild to Luna, it seemed. Pride? Stupid, this was going to end badly...

And so it did. Lemmy finally made a mistake from sheer exhaustion, and found herself knocked to her knees so hard the force jarred the wind from her. She dropped to her hands, leaving her neck exposed,unable to talk.

The man had been right, a referee would have awarded the fight to Luna and stopped it.

Luna seemed to become someone else. A shout of pure victory, too primal for any words, came from her. She set up and swung her sword hard for Lemmy's neck...

A red streak slammed into her full tilt. Lina and Luna tangled onto the ground. Lina begged Luna "Sis! don't kill her! You can't humiliate her by making her surrender if she's dead..."

Luna grabbed Lina's throat and glared. Then Lina's words got in, and she slowly relaxed, letting her sister breath, and finally releasing her. "Y-you thought I would kill her?" she finally asked. "N-not on purpose, but I saw your bloodlust..." Lina managed to rasp out through a painful voice.

"Bloodlust..." said Luna quietly, as she fell back and stared at the sky. What had she been doing? Oh Gods, no...

Slowly she got up. She looked at her sister. Lina was trying to help a badly shaken Lemmy to get up. Luna took her sword and went over to Lemmy. The blackhaired woman looked at her with fear in her eyes, and was about to say something, when Luna knelt before her and carefully placed her sword on the ground before Lemmy.

She bowed her head to the ground and said "Lina is right. I lost control. I don't know why, I must think on this for a long time. But I know that makes you the better swordswoman, Lemmy Martin. I, Lina Inverse, Knight of Ceiphied, submit to you, and offer this sword to you to be yours forever as a token of your victory. Please, forgive me?"

Lemmy looked about as stunned as Lina. "B-but, I lost..." she said.

Luna replied "You won, Lemmy, please accept that."

Lemmy stared at Luna then, finally nodded."O-okay..." As per the protocol of the occasion, she bent down and took the sword. "T-thank you...".

She let Lina lead her away to find a healer. She was dazed, and confused. But then again, so was Lina.

Gourry went to Luna. Swordsman to swordswoman, he said to her "We all make mistakes, Luna. But we can't all accept them. what you just did proves you to be of the highest caliber better than the greatest victory could have. I am honoured to have you as a sister in law." He extended a hand to help her up.

Luna looked at Gourry with a strange look. Finally she reached up and let him help her. "Thank you..." she said quietly, as they followed after Lina and Lemmy.

"In the healers temple the combatants were quickly tended to. In the middle of the healing Amelia burst in. "I just heard! What is wrong with you two? A submission fight without a referee? You are lucky a death didn't happen, it would have been murder."

Lina tried to speak.

"No Lina! I will NOT be quiet!" said a passionate Amelia. "Two friends, two commrades in arms in the fight before us, against the injustice of BeastMaster and her minnions, and they want to run the risk of killing each other? Foolhardy! We need both your swords. And worse than that, it's unjust!"

Lina groaned. Not now Amelia, not a Justice Speech...

Lemmy and Luna seemed to realise what was about to happen and sat there, looking like two contrite schoolgirls being lectured for wearing makeup, or something...

"Sisters in the battle to stop evil and free her captives, that's what you are, but now you fight like this? Friend against friend? To the risk of death? This kind of silliness will break the sacred and holy bonds of friendhip faster than anything, and at a time when they might be what you need to be victorious. Sure, you might forgive each other, once, but the next time? Or if you hurt each other badly? Then what? Are you trying to give Beastmaster the victory?"

Lina sighed, Amelia was warming up well. Oh well, it was her first justice speech since, wel...

Amelia suddenly got an answerer to "Then what" which turned out to be the totally unexpected. A maid burst in. "Princess! Please, Princess Amelia!" she yelled out excitedly.

Amelia faltered and turned.

The maid's shock and aggitation were plain to see. And something else.

Could it be joy?

She pointed to the castle proper.

"Lord Zelgadiss, he's returned..."

Amelia just stared, as if unable to take it all in.

"Its' true, I saw him. He lives! He's with your daddy in the hall right now..." the maid said.

Amelaia didn't even wait to scream. She ran as fast as she could to the castle.

Of course the otheres were right behind, but Amelia moved like the wind itself. Somewhere along the way other people joined them, including Ayn and Milgasa. There was no talking, such a thing just had to be seen.

The small mob entered the hallway. There stood Prince Phil. And there beside him, back from the dead...

"Oh Gods! They both live!" shouted Lina, her own eyes blinded by tears as they ran. Soon they stopped, just before the couple, except of course Amelia. A pink and white streak, she suddenly lept fully upon the chimera and started to kiss him, openly, in public.

"I thought you were dead! I thought you were dead!" she said between kisses. Sylphiel looked on, sweatdropping. But, Amelia had been there first and didn't know yet, did she? She had to be patient, this time...

Amelia went on, her eyes glowing as she looked at Zel. "My dream, oh I thank all the gods it was wrong." she cried, tears of joy flowing like a river.

"Did she react this strongly when she thought her daddy was dead all those years ago?" a puzzled Gourry quietly asked Lina.

Lina replied just as quietly "She loves Zel like I love you. The only man who ever gets closer to a girl than her daddy is her husband. Yeah, she's being quite emotional, but he's just come back from the dead. Poor girl, I hope he tells her soon. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Zel, I've been good and kept quiet all this time because it was proper, but having lost you and regained you beyond all hope, I can't be quiet any more. I love you!" said a breathless Amelia. There was a quiet murmer from the room. For some reason, Phil looked at Amelia saddly.

Zel had been trying to politely disengage from Amelia all this time, of course, but when Amelia confessed her love he simply had to push her off and put her down.

"Hey?" said Amelia, wondering for the first time if something was wrong. The others in the room stared on, in dead silence.

"Amelia, don't, I need to talk to you about that, in private." said Zel, seriously.

Amelia backed off. "S-something's wrong... Tell me now Zel, tell me now." She clung to her daddy, as if needing protection from the suddenly scary chimera.

Zel gave Phil a helpless look. Phil took Amelia in hand and said "Let's go into the small room, and he can talk there." Amelia let herself be led away, Zel and the gang following, but the rest of the castle understood that they had to stay away.

"They live? Have I been forgiven?" whispered Luna, sounding shocked, to Ayn.

The dragon woman replied "You were never condemned, except by yourself." She looked at Luna and was startled to find tears on her Mistress' cheek, though perhaps she shouldn't have been. She suddenly hugged the girl and said "You always act brave, of course it's been hard on you too..." as they entered the room.

Zel stood next to Sylphiel. He took a deep breath, even two, and, sounding nervous he said "Amelia, I better clear this up right away. I am sorry. I wasn't fully certain before, so I foolishly kept quiet, but after spending all that time escaping, I had to really think about everything that was truely important to me and I realised some things. Your dream was true, Amelia, you have lost me, but not to death."

Amelia was confused, to say the least.

Zel went on "I do care for you Amelia, love you even, but, to me you are the sister I never had."

"Sis-ter..." whispered Amelia. You could just see her heart break.

"Over the years I have come to know another woman as well as you, and I fell in love with her. But I never acknowleged my feeling for her, until I had a week of staring death in the face to make me focus. I am sorry to everyone for this, but I have never truely trusted my feelings since I became what I am now, a chimera, and it took this major event to make me clear my heart and mind. I don't suppose it helped that she was also taken with someone else for a long time as well, and I didn't want to interfere."

Lina was confused. She wondered at the color on Sylphiel's cheeks, but as crazy as it was, she was also aware the rumour mill had pegged her and Zel as secret lovers. Something she actively fireballed, er, denied every chance she got, but the rumours had persisted. And then there were the truely scary ones about her and Xellos. But even they weren't the scariest, the ones with Naga were...

But, now she was worried, were they true? At least on Zel's part? Suddenly she hugged Gourry's big, strong arm...

"This will sound crazy, I know," said Zel "But in the week or so that I have been away, I have been through death and life and love, and, well, I married her, not two nights ago..."

"Oh good, it's not me... hey, wait..." thought Lina.

Amelia tried to be brave, but the pronouncement that Zel was married caused her to lose all hope, in a way that was far worse than death. And after it had been so cruelly given back to her too...

She buried her face in her father's chest as he hugged her. "I have long suspected something like this, my boy." said Phil to Zel, in a soft understanding manner.

Zel nodded. "Well, I guess this is where I make my happy announcement. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Mrs. Zelgadiss Greywords."

He held his hand up.

Sylphiel took it. "H-hi, everyone..." she said softly.

In the silence that followed Amelia started to cry and Phil excused her and himself, and took her away.

"Well, Zel, yeah, you always did like the demure ones." said Lina quietly. "I should have seen this one coming but I didn't, you got me there." Then she went forward and with a big smile she hugged him, then Sylphiel, giving her a kiss on the cheek as well. "I'm glad beyond words that you two are alive and well. And Hey! Congratulations! Married eh? What's it like, maybe I should try it sometime!" she teased.

The room giggled, except Gourry who gave her a sour look and said "Oi! Lina!" She just laughed and called him a jellyfish, like it was a pet name, or something...

Then congratulations all around, and then, of course, the mandatory telling of every last little detail, several times over... 


	29. Chapter 31

There was no activity for the Slayers over the course of the next week and a bit. Of course they still had lots to do, practicing, studying, more careful sword practices, things like that, and there were plenty of reports of dragon battles to cause worry, but so far they held to Luna's request and stayed away from people.

"The real mystery is, where's Filia in all of this? You'd think she'd be out stirring up battle and trouble, but... nothing." said a puzzled Ayn.

The others agreed that it was odd that she would just drop off of the face of the earth. "I suspect Beastmaster is working on something grand and devious." said Lina as they were talking about it.

"Yes," said Zel, "there are many reports of strange mazoku activities of late. The Kataart mountains seem to have more than their fair share of it, though maybe it's just the Claire Bible?"

Sylphiel looked concerned. "Something tells me it isn't but don't ask me what. Still, I really have a bad feeling from something." The others nodded, when a white priestess had a premonition it paid to listen.

As recent events has shown...

The only one not there was Amelia. She had shown up the next day and offered formal congratulations to Zel and Sylphiel on their wedding, but it was plain from her red eyes that she had taken it rather hard. Since then she had been moping around the castle and its grounds, avoiding people, sighing deeply, even having little weeps. But then, she had lost the man she loved twice in a week, each time forever. Who could blame her? Still, her lively personality and big smile were missed by her friends.

Then came the day, about a week later, when she disappeared...

There was a great deal of confusion in the castle as people of all sorts ran back and forth looking everywhere, calling her name, even using magic to seek her out. As if she wasn't powerful enough to hide from all that if she wanted to. Still everyone turned out to look, even the Slayers. After all, she was one of their own! There were probably a few stones unturned as a result of the search, but they would have been pebbles far too small to hide a Princess behind.

Everyone got together at supper to discuss this disturbing news.

"She didn't say anything, did she?" asked Ayn.

"Well, not to any of us." replied Lina, to which Luna added "It sounds like she said nothing to anyone at all."

"Grief is a strong emotion and well able to cloud the reason." said Milgasa, getting a nod from Ayn.

"She probably wanted to get farther away..." sighed Zel, looking a bit guilty.

"But why would she go and not say anything?" asked Gourry.

Lina sighed. "To get away from us so we couldn't find her?" was her reply.

Gourry was still puzzled "But then how do we know she just ran away? Maybe she was taken?"

There was a thoughtful silence. Lemmy spoke up. "He's right!" she said, "How do we know she's hiding and not kidnapped? Didn't Beastmaster come and bother your mom, Luna? We've all said she must be up to something, maybe this is it?"

This brought concern to all at the table. They decided to ask Prince Phil if this had been looked into and proceeded to the room where he was at the moment.

"Of course." he replied. "Given my family's history, the possibility of a kidnapping has occured to me, but we have no proof of that anymore than of her just running away." He sighed. "She's always been a good girl, but in extreme stress she seems to have a need to go to ground, I suspect that this is what she's done. It's just like after her mother died, she went missing for a day and a half, until we found her huddled up in a closet. She was only nine at the time, and her mother's death and her sister's unconsolable grief were just too much for her. I suspect that she's gone for a walk about, as they say. I'm sure she can take care of herself. But I wish she had left word of where she was going and how long..."

Lemmy replied "What about if she went out for a brief walk and then something happened?"

"Anything's possible." said Phil. "I just wonder what set her off now, and not a week or two ago?"

A quiet Sylphiel looked very guilty and said "I think that was me..."

They all looked at her. "Love?" asked Zel as he stepped next to her.

She hung her head and explained. It was last evening. I didn't say anything before now, because I hoped she would be found and that it would be nothing. But, I'm so sorry, but we had a sort of a fight."

"A fight???" asked Lina, on behalf of the group.

"I- I had gone to see my Uncle." Sylphiel explained.

"I thought we were going to see him together?" said Zel.

Sylphiel shook her head. "I'm sorry, Zel, but no. As i've told you before, he hates chimeras. I knew this wouldn't go well, but that it had to be done anyway, so I went alone. Apparently I've disgraced myself, my family, my heritage, both the kingdoms of Seirune and Sairaag, the planet in general, and possibly even the Lord of Nightmares herself. Well, I took it, because there was nothing else to do, and I guess I'm dissowned now. It's a pity, because except for that he's been a wonderful uncle, a second father really. I expected it, but I wasn't in a good mood when I got back to the palace."

"Princess Amelia was there, and she wanted to talk. And it wouldn't wait. I-I won't say all of what was said, but basically, I think her hurt had reached a head and she needed to vent. Oh, if she had only let me have a good night's sleep. I'd have been contrite and it would have all blown over, but last night I just couldn't take it. She was very polite and formal, but the gist of it was she wanted to know where I got off being a manstealer."

"It's my fault, I should have told her a long time ago..." said Zel, gently.

"It doesn't matter." smiled Sylphiel sadly. "The long story short is that I snapped back at her, telling her, in no uncertain terms I'm afraid, that I didn't steal you, that you were never hers, and that for all the joy I have from being your wife, and it is a great joy, I had made some sacrifices too, such as losing my uncle, commiting to a life of wandering with you to find your cure, something she wasn't free to do, and committing to no babies until, or unless, you did become human again. Then I got mean. I said that it was my turn to be happy, and I was glad I was. I had cried enough when I had been the loser, now it was someone elses turn..."

"Ah..." said Phil. Lina was momentarily afraid there was going to be a justice speech, or something. But he was silent, and thoughtful.

Sylphiel concluded with "She had been, well, somewhat teary when she started, but after I stabbed her with my words she went white, and silent. She just turned and walked away, and now, this...

"Whoa! Sylphiel has teeth!" smirked Lina, only to receive a sharp crack on the head from Luna which made her cringe.

"Thank you." said Zel quietly, to Luna.

Gourry frowned and bundled Lina out of range. If looks could kill, Luna might just have been fatally wounded, but she seemed not to notice.

Sylphiel nodded. "Teeth, yes, like a poisonous snake..." she said.

Phil rumbled. "These sorts of things are never easy, Miss... I mean, Sylphiel. Please forgive Amelia."

Sylphiel didn't cry, exactly, but she sure sank into Zel's embrace.

"Well, so now we can be sure that she ran away and won't be back until she's good and ready..." said Lina.

"It would seem so." said Phil. "In truth, I am, for once, at a loss to know what to do."

"I suspect there is nothing to do..." said Ayn. "Oh well..."

"We should still look." said Milgasa. "The world is unsettled, the dragons are at war, the mazoku have been observed to be busier than usual, and not with their usual sorts of pettiness. Something's up. She won't be safe, no one will be."

"Ah, yes, the mazoku..." said Phil, thoughtfully. "Are you aware of the reports that they are suddenly all over the place?" he asked.

"We've heard what the palace has heard." said Luna.

"It sounds as if they are searching for something all of a sudden." said Ayn. "Especially the ones known to be aligned with Beastmaster. I wonder what she is up to? I fear we stirred more than a hornet's nest when attacked her."

"Time will tell." replied the Prince. "At any rate the question is now more one of what to do about it, rather than what happened."

"And we have no real information to go on." sighed Lina.

"Could this be a prelude to an attack?" asked Lemmy.

"Maybe a reconnaissance misson?" suggested Gourry.

"Maybe." said Luna. "But what are they spying out? And why so obviously?"

"Could the obvious actions be a distraction to draw us away from the real action?" asked Sylphiel.

"Anything is possible at this point." replied Phil. "Well, we will keep up a search for my daughter, but eveything else will be watchful waiting.

And they did just that for a few days more. They watched, and they waited. They argued about the merits of patrols. They dug deeply into the vaults of the libraries looking for clues. They learned more than they thought was possible for humans to know about the mazoku. Luna and Lemmy formed a mazoku hunting team and often went out to slaughter deserving monsters, just for fun. Lina and Gourry did the same. Zel and Sylphiel joined them at times, but they also put in time working on their magic with Ayn and Milgasa. If nothing else, Sylphiel was inspired by the Golden Ressurection and was determined to learn all she could before she met Anesha again. So, the time passed, and still they waited.

One day, they were having a tea break and chatting about how the searching mazoku seemed to be getting more desperate. "They've lost something." said Ayn. "And they are desperate to find it." added Milgasa, as they analysed the situation.

"Would that we could find it first." said Luna.

"Maybe you shouldn't kill the monsters so fast?" smiled Sylphiel.

"Trust us, they seem to be willing to die at our swords before they face Zelas." replied Lemmy. "They won't talk."

"It must be important then." said Lina.

"What on earth could Zelas lose though? And not be able to find? This makes no sense." said Zel, shaking his head.

"Now we know how a chess piece must feel." smiled Gourry.

Lina chuckled. "Hey, that's a game we haven't played for a while, anyone wanna take a strategy break?" she suggested.

After a pause there was a general round of agreement. After all, everything else they were doing was a dead end...

Soon one of the pavillions in one of the gardens was set up and a game of chess was underway. And a game of Dragon Poker. It seemed Ayn was determined to win back the money she had lost to Gourry all those weeks ago, and decided the best way was to teach him a new game.

It was clear that dragons had long memories.

It was also clear from the low growls that he was catching on faster then she had expected...

"Oh stop smirking!" she snapped at one point.

Milgasa, the one she had snapped at, simply said "But it's summer, we're outdoors and he's facing south, plus, it after the noon hour, that means unicorns are no longer wild. He's got you dead to rights."

"I know, I know!" she cried dramatically. She dug in a purse. "Okay, okay, I see your bid, human, and I meet it, and raise you double!" she said as she threw something red onto the table.

"Oh rubies!" said Milgasa, sounding a bit excited. "Okay that changes everything, unless he has some palladium coins!"

"Huh?" said a puzzled Luna as she looked up from the chess board where she had Lina's last remaining piece, the King, of course, totally surrounded by all of her pieces, including the eight pawns that had made it to the far side and become Queens in their own right...

"I yeild..." sighed her sister, wisely. Lina then looked over to see how Zel was doing teaching Sylphiel how to play. He seemed to be taking a very long time to do it, heck he seemed to be still showing her how the pieces moved.

"Hey Zel." Lina said "Wouldn't she learn faster if you didn't keep holding her fingertips and let her move the pieces?"

"Maybe said Zel, smirking. "Wouldn't be as much fun though." added an equally smirking Sylphiel...

"Palladium coins cancel out rubies when it's a sunny day." explained Milgasa.

"Right!" said Lina, digging in her cloak. "Does the denomination matter?"

"Only if you have a lucky thirteen." replied Milgasa.

"Hey, who invited you?" said Ayn sourly as Lina went through a handful of silvery looking coins.

"I'm the wife." said Lina, and she smiled triumphantly and held out the indicated coin.

"You sure?" asked Milgasa. "It's worth a lot."

"Yep!" said Lina with a triumphant grin as she threw it in the pot.

"In that case, THANK YOU!" cried a happy Ayn as she grabbed all the money on the table.

"WHAT!!??" shrieked Lina, in disbelief.

"Luck thirteen. Lucky for your opponent that you played it." explained Milgasa. "Really, Lina who did you think it'd be lucky for?"

"And I was winning too..." pouted Gourry, looking almost ready to cry as Ayn did a rude little "In your face..." happy dance.

"Okay, then you have two choices." said Lina, looking dangerously red in the face, fangs in full view. "You either give it back before, or after, the fireball..."

"Sore loser!" cried Ayn happily as she stuck her tongue out at Lina while pulling her eye lid down.

Lina choked on that one.

Milgasa quickly said "Actually, the best way to do this is to win it back. Think of the humiliation. Join us and we will teach you to play."

Lina glared, then went to get a chair. Heck, if it meant money, she was still Lina, after all.

"I guess I've lost my opponent." sighed Luna. "Sylphiel, how about a game? Be a good way to see if lover boy taught you well." she said, smirking at the young woman.

"Um, okay..." the miko replied.

Soon there was merry pandamonium as Lina grappled with the rules of Dragon Poker, a game so complicated that only Dragons and Legendary Jellyfish, er, Swordsmen could comprehend it.

"So, Unicorns trump trolls when?" she asked, sounding very exasperated.

"Never, they trump goblins. Weren't you paying attention?" smirked Ayn.

Lina frowned."I was stuck on the thingy about facing East in a rainstorm on the first day of the week provided it was after the high holy days-amahoozit, stuff. Explain a bit more slowly, will ya? Frankly, I think you guys are making this up as you go."

"No, that's Calvin Ball." replied Milgasa.

"Hey! I've played that!" said Gourry, happily.

Lina stiffled the urge to scream...

There were more rules and more frustraions as the game got more and more perplexing. Lina was begining to seeth, when Luna cries out "NO! Impossible. How...?"

Everyone looked over to see Luna sitting dumfounded before the chess board, Sylphiel on the other side. Luna's last remining piece, the King, of course, was totally surrounded by all of Sylphiel's pieces, including the eight pawns that had made it to the far side and become Queens...

"H-how...?" said Lina, looking as shocked as Luna. "Sis is the all Zephilia city champion..."

"Oh, uh, silly me, did I forget to mention I am Grand Master of the Sorceress' League?" smiled Sylphiel.

Luna was dumbfounded for several seconds. Then she looked at Zel. Or rather, glared...

"Weren't you teaching her how to play?" she asked, slowly.

"Yes." was the reply.

"She already knows how..."

"Chess, yes. But I never said I was teaching her to play chess, only how to play..."

He smirked, as did his wife.

Luna probably had a sharp answer to that, one she would have given too, right after she recovered from her facefault, but it was cut off as Lemmy said "Oh! How romantic!"

Luna's head snapped over to the swordswoman. She quickly realised that Lemmy had not been paying attention to what had happened, but was engrossed in a romance novel of some sort. Indeed, she sat there looking demure, which was so out of character, her face delicately flushed, her eyes shining and her pupils dilated. She even had one hand delicately poised over her breasts, looking for all the world like some idealised sweet young virgin, rather than a manaiacal sword swinger.

Mind you, it did occured to Luna that there was no particular reason she couldn't be both...

"Isn't it wonderful?" asked Ayn. "Where are you at?"

Lemmy looked up and smiled happily. "Kuragone just gave Syaoran his first lesson in swordsmanship!" she said. "You know, how a sword is used to cut only when needed, and not used to cut anything if it is not necessary? How romantic!"

Ayn joined the others in looking stunned...

"What?" asked Lemmy. "Why do you think I'm always looking for things that need cutting? You think I'm some sort of mass murderer?"

"Er, no..." said Ayn, hoping Lemmy didn't see the sweatdrop. "Um, how's the rest of the story?"

"Well, it's okay, only if I were Princess Tomoyo I'd treat poor Kuragone differently and get out there with him cutting down evil, rather than sending him off on idealistic crusades to other dimensions."

She paused, and sighed."And I do hope poor Princess Sakura gets her feathers back and remembers poor Syaoran somehow. It's, it's so tragic..." she sniffed...

"Well, let no one ever believe the rumours that Lemmy Martin is heartless..." muttered Lina.

Lemmy snorted and smirked at Lina. "Coming from the "enemy of all that live", among other titles, I'll take that as a big complement."

Lina gave her a hard look. "You do that..." she said, then turned back to her game.

She gave the cards a grim look.

"Okay, okay. Enough of this." she said. "We end this now. Milgasa, get the cards and reshuffle them. Ayn, you put everything on the table and I'm going to match it. Now!"

Something in her voice made it clear she was to be listened to. Luna got up and moved her chair, sitting beside Lina. "What'cha got in mind, sis?" she asked with a strange smile.

Lina grinned. "I figured out I can't win, the rules will take me forever to learn, and then there's the issue of juggling for advantage with each new hand. I just realised there is a way to beat the system, and finish this."

She looked over to Milgasa. "Is there anything on the table that gives her an instant win?" she asked.

The Dragon looked the "pot" over and said "No, Lady Lina, you win or lose with the cards."

"Deal." commanded Lina.

Milgasa did just that.

Ayn gulped. "Um, what's the plan here Lina?"

Lina picked up her cards. "We take the cards we've been dealt and form the best hand we can, then put them on the table, winner takes all."

"Oh..." said a puzzled Ayn.

"YOu playing cards or talking about life?" asked an equally puzzled Luna.

"Oh! I get it!" said Gourry, joining the present with enthusiasm. "You are taking away the ability to juggle for advantage. One hand, one throw of the cards, it all comes down to luck."

Lina smiled grimly. "Victory or the grave." she said ominously. "Here we go!"

She threw her cards down. Ayn gulped as she did likewise, then looked at Lina's hand.

There was silence, then Milgasa burst out laughing and laughing.

"What?" asked Lina.

Ayn's head banged the table. "Oh, I don't believe this!" she cried. "We tied!"

Lina looked blank. But, she didn't know the cards that well, so she had to take their word for it. "Well, we just reshuffle and go again?" she asked.

"Not when there's a third party dealing the cards..." said a pouty Ayn looking at a grinning Milgasa. "In those cases, the dealer wins..."

Proving himself to be a real gentleman, Milgasa scooped the cash. "Thanks!" he giggled.

Lina screamed dangerously, her eyes glowing red.

"He won fair and square." said Luna, quietly.

Lina immediately ducked behind Gourry. "Yep..." she acknowleged meekly.

"Weren't you always the shy, quiet type?" asked a puzzled Gourry as he watched Milgasa pocket the loot.

"Usually." he replied quietly.

"Huh." snorted Ayn. "It's always the one you least expect, you know..." she said, sarcastically.

"Y-yeah..." said Lina, keeping an eye on Luna. "Ya gotta watch out for the quiet types..."

Luna just smiled at Ayn. "You must be feeling better?" she asked, hopefully.

Ayn nodded. "I'll survive. I sent a letter to my folks explaining what happened and they just wrote back. Tragic, but not unexpected all around the family. I guess he just was not meant to be here for a long time. Well, I'll miss him for all that he was a rotter, but life goes on."

Luna nodded. "Thank you." she said quietly, and gratefully. Implied, but not spoken, had been Ayn's forgiving of Luna.

Suddenly, running steps, and a page appeared. "Please!" he said, excitedly. "His Majesty says you are all needed at the front hall, immediately..." 


	30. Chapter 32

There was running and a fast passage up to the hall they were summoned to.

"Amelia?" asked someone.

"I hope so..." was the reply.

Then they arrived.

It wasn't Amelia...

On the other hand Gavos and Jilas were there. They looked exhausted to the point of pain, and beaten as if they had been fighting the dragons...

They staggered, which was ominous, as they were already sitting.

"W-we made it Boss, you'll be better now..." Jilas said to someone on the floor.

Someone surrounded by a multitude of frightened looking guards.

They parted to let the Slayers in, and the mystery was solved.

Fila...

"H-how...?" asked a shocked Lina.

"We told ya." panted Jilas."Before you left on that mission of yours, we told ya you needed to be like thieves. Somethin' we've had experience with."

He paused for more breath. Sylphiel snapped into gear and cast a "Recovery"spell on the both of them, which helped them a lot.

"Thanks." said an appreciative Gavos, and Jilas nodded and smiled at her.

"I see the rumours of yer death are greatly exaggerated, Miss." he said to her.

Sylphiel smiled a big smile. "Yes, but only by a hair's breadth." she said, holding up her left hand.

Jilas cocked an eye. "Y' lost yer finger, but gained a ring. Was it a fair trade then?" he smiled back.

"Oh yes!" enthused Sylphiel.

HEY!" snapped Lina, returning them to reality. "Rest of the story?"

"Oh, right..."said the foxman, cringing at Lina. "Well, after you came back and told of your, um, "minor setback", Gavos and I realsied it'd be up t' us to do it right, so we left and went south t'wards th' island. We remembered what ya said about that Michelle person, the witch girl, er, woman, so, beggin' yer pardon, Miss, er, Mrs. Lina, but we went there an' talked t' her and told her we were with you. She offered to fullfill her pledge to help an' she made us this stuff." he said, holding up an empty, stained bottle.

Lina took it and sniffed. Nothing...

She gave them a puzzled look. Luna took the bottle and sniffed the nothingness too. She passed it to Ayn.

Ayn took one tiny sniff and threw the bottle, gagging. "Oh GODS! Have you been using that stuff on her?" she asked sharply.

"We're sorry, but how were we to control her?" asked Gavos. "We used it as sparingly as we could, but she'd always try to kill us when she was awake." he said, holding up a badly chewed on forearm, now healing thanks to Sylphiel. The others shuddered as they realised what the two friends must have gone through to get back their former "Boss".

Gavos continued. "We've had to basically keep her drugged up or knocked out all the way. We were very lucky we were able to make it last this long. The witch lady warned us to be very careful with it."

"I should say so." said Milgasa as he recovered the bottle and gave a little tiny sniff. "She is an expert in her craft, this Michelle. She was that blonde lady we met after defeating the vampire mazoku, I remember now."

Lina nodded. "Yes, yes, all fine and good, but how do you do it? Come on, spill!"

"Uh, okay." said Jilas, as he resumed the story. "Well, we went t' the witch lady an' got our potion there, then we went to the coast. We found a small boat, an' I'm afraid we, um "requisitioned" it for th' cause. But it did th' job, it got us through the water in th' dead of night, makin' for the island. I swear, that place was freaky scary from the shore an' got worse as you went closer. No matter how dark the night was, it was always darker, you couldn't miss it on a pitch black night, I'm sure."

The others nodded.

Jilas continued. "Anyway we went on and got t' the island and beached the boat. We made our way inland, then we went t' ground an' waited for light, 'cause we had no idea what t' do after that. There were a couple of close calls with bands of wolves and other things roamin' around and almost finding us, but we were lucky, or blessed. Or both. Well, by an' by, up comes th' sun an' we can see the main gate now. No guards as far as we could tell. But the place was just as creepy bad in the light, maybe they didn't need any? So we watched and tried t' plan, and who should come out? A tall blonde lady with a cigarette, some freaky priest in black, took us a whole two seconds t' recognise him as that from th' time we done in that Darkstar character, and the Boss! He was carryin' some sort o' basket, and the two ladies were fussin' no end over it and smilin' and carryin' on. Must have been valuable to them, we figured."

He sighed. "Anyway, they went up some path to get more sun. As soon as we dared we snuck up too. Really, really carefully. They sat in some sort o' pretty garden, which we found t' be totally out o' place for somethin' so evil as that island, but there it was. They settled the Boss on a well padded chair, then th' scary people left and went somewhere, leavin' the Boss with her basket. She just kept looking at it an' smilin', which was fortunate for us, she never heard us sneakin' up on her. She struggled powerfully when we got her, but we had put a rag with th' witch lady's potion on it over her nose an' mouth, and in a few seconds she was out. We took her and ran as quietly as we could. We made th' boat and' had t' make a snap decision about it bein' safer t' wait for night or pull off and try not to be seen. In th' end we pulled off as we heard some sort o' truely horrible shout, they must have discovered her gone. We don't know how, but they missed us, they must have been searching the island first an' we just made it. After that it was really just tryin' t' keep her in control an' get her here safely. Well, that an' avoidin' the obvious patrols of mazoku out lookin' for her. We done what we could, Mrs. Lina, please, it up t' you guys now. I know she was terribly hurt by little Val's death, an' she isn't in her right mind, please, have mercy an' help her."

Filia moaned and stirred on the floor.

"What was in the basket?" aske Ayn, a worried look on her face.

"Didn't get a good look, but something egg shaped and a pale milky white colour. About the size of Val's egg. Might have been two of them." said Gavos. "The basket got moved by her struggles, but it wasn't hit hard, I doubt whatever it was would have been broken."

Ayn went pale. Milgasa looked stunned.

Ayn bent over and rather roughly pulled Filia around to face her. "Hey! Where's the prisoner, is he still alive?" she demanded.

Filia stared at her very groggily, processed the question, then gave a defiant smile. "That's a secret..." she said, trying to smirk.

Ayn let her go and she fell back to the floor with a thump. "Get a cage, a dragon proof one, she's coming round and will be terribly dangerous just as soon as she can be. As for the basket, your guess was right, dragon eggs are milky white right after they are laid, then they turn clear in about a week. But they wouldn't have been taking such care of them if they were sterile, so I guess we answered the question about how they'd handle Filia when her need came upon her. They must have kidnapped a male dragon and made him fertilize her. I just hope he's still alive."

Filia laughed a terrible, triumphant laugh. Which, given her obvious grogginess was a rather impressive thing to do...

Milgasa looked at her. "Miss Filia, please, is your egg fertile or not?"

"That's a secret..." she giggled, groggily.

A detail of mages and guards appeared in the hall with equipment designed to hold a dragon, and Filia was bound up in short order and taken off to wherever they intended to hold her.

"Her head has to hurt." said Ayn. "One whiff of that stuff and mine does. But she's going to defy us no matter what. I wonder how we can reach her." She sighed.

Milgasa went and solemly shook hands with Jilas and Gavos. "What you did was tremendous and worthy of much praise. Thank you."

"Yes, you deserve a reward!" said Prince Phil, finally letting himself into the conversation.

"Fix th' Boss an' bring her back is all we want." sniffed Jilas. Gavos simply nodded.

"We will try, I promise." said Phil.

"May I help?" asked Sylphiel.

"I give Filia's healing over to Lady Ayn as being the most knowlegable about dragon ailments, if she wishes your help I am all for it too." the Prince replied. He then added "I must go, please excuse me." and left the room.

Ayn smiled at the white priestess. "I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get, you are more than welcome, Sylphiel."

"I don't like the way she laughed about the fertility of her eggs question." said Luna as Lina nodded in agreement.

"We're missing something." said the petite mage.

"Time will tell, if not Filia." shrugged Ayn.

Gavos and Jilas were bundled off for some further healing, and the Slayers went back to a room where they could talk this all out.

"This is going to be be trouble. Poor guys, they've lead Beastmaster straight to Seirune. She won't take long to find out where Filia is now that they've stopped moving, and when she comes..." said Lina.

"Bugger..." said Luna, quietly.

"And Miss Amelia's still out there." added a worried Sylphiel.

"Well, can't we do anything pre-emptive to Beastmaster?" pondered Zel.

"What now, Lina?" asked Gourry.

Before Lina could respond Lemmy piped up "I suggest we concentrate on searching for Amelia, but how long will it be before we can expect this BeastMaster to show up? Do we dare to go far?"

"She will be here when she gets here." said Ayn. "And no, if we want to meet her and help Seirune when she comes, we have to stay put. I expect it'll be in a day, or two if we are lucky."

"Bugger..." repeated Luna.

Ayn sighed and shook her head. "Well, I'm going to give Miss Filia until tommorrow morning, so she can recover a bit, then I'll see what, if anything, I can do." she said. "Don't anyone go and heal her, I think the headache might do her some good."

"I wonder if that's the best approach?" asked Milgasa.

"I don't know." replied Ayn. "If we heal her right off it might make her grateful, but it might get her resolve up. On the other hand if we leave her to stew it might weaken her, or it might make her resolve stronger. I'm open to suggestions."

Of course, there weren't any...

"Well, I'm going Princess hunting then." said Lemmy. "I'm going stir crazy just sitting here."

"We will help." said Zel as he stood next to Sylphiel. "The others should stay in case Zelas comes. But we shouldn't leave the city." he added.

Lemmy nodded, but said "Which is just what the Princess had done, I'll wager."

"Too safe a bet." sighed Lina.

"I'd prefer to stay and prepare myself for Filia." said Ayn, apologetically.

"Should I stay too?" asked Sylphiel, looking at Ayn. The dragon priestess just shrugged.

"Bugger." said Luna.

Gourry looked at her. "You keep saying that." he said to his sister in law.

Luna shrugged. "what else can I say?" she asked.

Gourry thought a minute, then shrugged. he looked at her, they suddenly both smiled, and said, together, "bugger." This time it was followed by snickering.

And a big sigh from Lina as she looked at Gourry, wondering where to smack him first.

"What?" he asked. She just shook her head.

The conversation went around a couple of more times, then they all decided to heck with it and went out to scour the city one last time for Amelia. They decided they had the night at least before Beastmaster arrived. Sylphiel stayed and talked with Ayn.

Late in the night they were all back, with no Amelia. There being nothing more to do they all went to bed.

In the morning they all woke early. They were afraid of something happening today, and wanted to be ready. The tension could be felt at the breakfast table, as there was little of the usual banter that usually took place. Even Gourry and Lina seemed more interested in eating quickly to be ready, rather than fighting each other for fun and food. Zel cocked an eye about that at his wife, who nodded back, but neither said anything...

After breakfast, Sylphiel joined Ayn and they went off to deal with Filia. The others got in some more practice. They decided to start off with swords first thing, and even Milgasa drew his and joined them in a six way practice battle featuring himself, and also Luna, Gourry, Zel, Lemmy, and Lina. "You never know." she said, holding her sword in with the rest.

There was a second of silence, then, without a word they joined battle, everyone against everyone, at once...

In the building that housed the cage Filia was in the two priestesses sat themselves down outside the cage and looked at the blonde dragon woman inside. She seemed haggared, and sore, but had shown her mind aleady by spitting at them through the bars. It was a solid Orihalcon cage that had also been magically enhanced, Filia could spit and curse at them, but there wasn't much else she could do, they were fairly safe.

"Would you care to talk?" asked Ayn, being a bit formal.

"Nope. can I go now?" said Filia.

Ayn sighed. "Nope." she replied, then asked Filia "Why are you doing this?".

"Doing what?"

"Siding with the mazoku, and being the Destroying Angel?" asked Ayn, patiently.

"Oh, that..." said Filia. "That's a secret."

Ayn shook her head. "Well, I can see who your role modle is..." she said, sounding a bit exasperated.

"But how can we understand if you are too secretive?" asked Sylphiel.

"Why do you need to understand?" asked Filia.

"Don't be so exasperating." said Ayn, snapping out the command, with a frown.

"Thin skinnned are we?" smirked Filia. "But then, you are a black..."

"Racisim, Filia?" sighed Ayn."Or are you just trying to get under my skin?"

"Sure, it's thin enough." giggled Filia, sounding rather evil. "Hey, if I succeed, can I go?"

Ayn didn't even bother answering, but a staring match ensued.

The black dragon priestess won, though it took long enough. Sylphiel was worried by the look of hate in Miss Filia's eyes as she finally backed away. She knew she had to trust Miss Ayn, but she really felt the dragon priestess should have deliberately let Filia win, though she wasn't sure why. There was too much "personality" coming from both dragons for there to be any serious healing, she felt. But, then again, she wasn't a dragon, maybe it was different than with humans? She felt out of her element. She wondered what Anesha would do, or Shantal.

Or, maybe not Shantal...

"Well, Filia, we are at an impass if you won't talk to us." said Ayn. "I rather expected this at the start. We shall see how it goes."

"A challenge then?" frowned Filia.

"No, just a statement of fact." replied Ayn. She turned to Sylphiel. "We will leave for now and let her ponder her predicament." she said, getting up to leave.

She turned back to Filia. "Despite what you've convinced yourself to believe, I am not here to be your enemy. But if you ever want out of that cage at some time in the future it will be through me. Remember that. You will have to talk to me, eventually." She then left. Sylphiel followed, but couldn't help looking back at Filia several times. The blonde dragon just watched them go.

"Did we gain anything?" she asked Ayn after they left the building. The dragon priestess shook her head and replied with a deep weariness in her voice "A headache. I'm sorry, I just couldn't put up with very much of that at this time. There's been too much happen lately."

She was silent for a space, then said "I am going to meditate and calm myself. We can try later, I am sorry."

Sylphiel nodded and let Ayn go her way. She stood in thought for a time and then found a sunny place to sit down in. She felt lost. Dragon wars, Destroying Angels, almost dying, sudden love, and a life time commitment. She smiled. "This is one hell of a honeymoon..." she said to herself.

She was curious though, and couldn't get over the way Filia was acting. It wasn't that she didn't care, it was more like she had taken on a death wish, and wanted to take everyone with her. But, why? Well, she knew the story about little Val, but was that all there was to it? She kept turning it all over in her mind, then decided there was only one way to get an answer. With some fear, but with greater determination, she went back to see the former Dragon Priestess.

Alone.

"Oh? Did you miss me?" sneered Filia as Sylphiel returned.

Sylphiel sighed. "I am not trying to insult you Miss Filia. I'm not Miss Ayn. She wants to convert you, save you even, and maybe that would be the best, but it's not for me to say, I realise that. I was hoping that if she wasn't around you might be more willing to just talk. You can't be very happy in that cage."

Filia looked at Sylphiel then seemed to very softly let go and loosen up. "Well, you are right. I want to go home, I have to go home, but I am stuck in here. And I can't believe how I was captured. The little sneaks. But I did forget how loyal Jilas is, bless his foxy heart. And Gavos too. I am mad at this situation, but you know? I am not mad at them any more, because they don't understand, and they did what they really thought was right. I wonder how they'll take my execution?"

Sylphiel looked worried. "Execution? No one's said a word. And yes, you are right, none of us really understand. We know you were attacked, and that it was by dragons who killed your egg and thought they had killed you, then Xellos came and took you away, now, you are going around killing dragons for the mazoku, and we don't get it. That's why I came back, I'm hoping that without the tension of Miss Ayn you would relax and help me understand. Please?"

Filia chuckled, then broke out into a laugh. A good natured one at that. "Oh my, you are putting me off my stride, and here I was composing my death song too. Listen, I know they aren't at the execution stage yet, but as time goes by and I don't repent they will lose interest in me. And I am expensive to keep and feed. And sooner or later some high dragon official is going to take time out of the war to realise who I am and come demand the death penalty for my murdering so many dragons. So, it's only time, Miss Sylphiel."

"Um, I'm married now, actually. Just." the shrine maiden said softly.

"Really? Well, I congratulate you then." replied Filia, sounding like she really ment it. "Hey, we have something in common. But I bet you haven't laid any eggs yet. So, any chance you are with child though?"

"I wish." smiled Sylphiel. "But, of all the people to fall in love with and marry, my husband is a chimera and unless we find his cure, no babies, I'm afraid."

"Not that you aren't trying..." teased Filia.

That got a blushing giggle from the miko.

"It's okay. I know humans are a bit different than we dragons are, but it's wonderful just the same. I really do congratulate you. Well, atleast I laid my eggs before this happened. I just wish I could have seen them grow up." the dragon said.

"Are you really so sure they will execute you then?" asked a concerned Sylphiel.

Filia smiled. "Yes, I'm sure of it. And, as I said, I only regret that I won't get to see my eggs hatch. Ah well. Oh,and I know how they will do it too. Shall I tell you? Of course I shall. They won't dare release me and this cage won't let them use magic. They won't risk spears or arrows, I might turn them into weapons. So, they will just plop this cage onto a pile of wood and light it. Simple and effective,really." she said.

Sylphiel reeled. "Th-that can't be, that's horrible. But, how can you be so casual about it?" she asked, horrified.

"Sure it can be, and as for being casual, what else can I do? It's part of preparing for the end." was the reply.

"W-won't, uh, Beastmaster come for you?" asked Sylphiel.

Filia shrugged. "Mistress is Mistress, she will do what she wants. I am a slave and have no right to expect her to do otherwise."

"H-how did it come to this? I mean, how did you decide to join what must at one time have been the "other side"? " asked Sylphiel.

"Oh well, I suppose I should tell my story at least once." said Filia. "It's simple, I was hatched, loved, nurtured, and raised by my parents to be a good little dragon girl, a proud member of the Golden Dragon clan that served the Firelord. We were wonderful we were the best, we were in Ceiphied's favour. And as a child this was all taken for simple fact, not even as proud boasting. And of course there were repercussions going on from the recent war, well, recent by our take on time, anyway, black dragons were trecherous beings and weren't to be trusted, unlike pure and holy us."

"HA!" she exclaimed suddenly. "So, life was wonderful until my mommy passed away, and daddy did his best to raise me. I wanted him to be proud of me, so, when the time came I went and became a shrine maiden at the temple of the firelord. And I did my best everyday, and the leaders of the temple declared I was a wonderful girl and an excellent acolyte, and life was wonderful. Until that damned prophecy came along and I had to go recruit Miss Lina there. Then my eyes started to get opened."

She sighed. "In short, I discovered that my people, the great and wonderful golden dragons who serve the Firelord were also mass murderers. We killed off every last ancient dragon, except for little Val, who we..."

Filia shook, in pain, and a tear escaped from one of her big blue eyes. She frowned then said in a harder voice "We missed him and left him to die..."

She gulped a few times, then regained her composure. She gave a snort. "My wonderful people, left a baby to die in agony on the ruins of his people. Can you even imagine how I felt?"

She shook her head. "Short story, Val became ValGaav, tried to destroy the world, I found out why, broke with my people, then got to watch them all die, helpless to stop it when they foolishly attacked Darkstar. Then more fighting, valGaav was killed, and I was full of grief even though we eventually won. Then a miracle! Some goddess gave him back as an egg! I had a chance to redeem myself and my people! I would be his mother, and, when the time came, I would find him a wife, or be one, the race of ancient dragons would be reborn atleast in part by his fathering children."

She looked sadly at Sylphiel. "I felt reborn, renewed. I took Jilas and Gavos and started my little shop selling Vases of good workmanship, and also maces of quality. It was a hard enough life, but a happy one, and I was at least making ends meet. My only foolish problem was believing it would continue forever."

She went silent and Sylphiel was starting to wonder if Filia had stopped altogether when the dragon went on, her voice heavy with sorrow. "Then came that day. three full grown male dragons showed up with a warrant of some sort that demanded little Val's death and my arrest. I did what I had to, you know? I fought them, they knocked me out and, and..."

Filia sank to the floor, weeping in deep grief. For a short time there was only the sounds of grief. Even Sylphiel had tears in her eyes from the horror of it all. To kill a baby?

Suddenly, Filia rose from the floor. Her eyes were filled with wild rage. "They killed him!" she hissed, snakelike. "Killed him and left me for dead! When I came to I wished I had died. They didn't even leave me a body, just some burned ashes that scattered in the wind, and shards of his smashed egg."

She dug her shard out from around her neck. "Like this." she said, hatred in her voice. "I was going to use it to kill myself with, I had nothing else to do. I got to the point I actually tried to stab myself. And then..."

There was a pause, Sylphiel could only look on with a horror struck fascination, waiting for Filia to speak.

"What do you think happened then?" said Filia in a slow, deliberate voice.

"I can't guess." replied Sylphiel, quietly.

"You can try..."said Filia, smiling darkly. "Go on, it's quite ironic..."

Sylphiel gulped."Obviously you got saved, and I can expect it had something to do with the Mazoku, but I can't think of the details, please Miss Filia, it's horrible already." she said.

Filia chuckled in a creepy way. "Oh yes, it is, and it's wonderful too. Shall I spare you? Did Lina Inverse ever tell you about our adventure with the Demon known as Dark Star?"

Sylphiel nodded. "Some of it, at least." she gulped.

Then you atleast know that the being called Xellos was not particularly my friend, I take it?"

Sylphiel nodded.

Filia continued her creepy smile and went on. "He arrived out of nowhere, and stopped me from destroying myself, then invited me to go with him to ask his Mistress to help me seek my revenge. That was the only thing he could have said that would have ever gotten in, and it did. He gave me hope, and purpose. What I could never do myself, I might achieve with the aid of others. Of course there would be a terrible cost, but my desire for vengance in those first hours was overwhelming, and I didn't care."

She sighed, then gave Sylphiel a pleasant smile. "Actually it hasn't been as bad as it might. I realised my existance is now totally dependant on serving my Mistress and my Lord, but, you see, I had an epiphany of sorts, or maybe a paradigm shift even, on the way to Wolfpack island that caused me to see an inconvenient truth,and it has made me, of my free will, go completely to the other side, as it were. What I do now I do for vengance, but also because it must be so. Shall I tell you what that is? Do you think you can handle the truth?" she ended, smirking.

Sylphiel sighed. "I can handle it, though I may not agree with it, atleast, not until I have had a chance to think on it very well." she said.

"I suppose that's fair." said Filia. "It's not like you've had my life experiences. Okay, here it is. As I flew over in Lord Xellos' arms it occured to me to ask what kind of race of beings would destroy another branch of their own kind on the basis of fear caused mearly by suspicion, and use the same fear to destry an unborn baby without even seeing if their concerns were true or not. The answer was, of course, an evil one. But,as I said earlier, I was raised to view dragons as good. But we had deluded ourselves, there was no other way to understand it."

She gave Sylphiel a sad smile. "You see, Ceiphied won, so naturally we all assume he's the good one, but, none of us who claim to be on his side, be they dragons, elves, humans, or whoever, really do good. I know we can do good things, but we can't achieve true goodness. We can't cast out fear, hate, suspicion..."

"Murder..."

"We make laws and wrestle with it, but in ten thousand years, all that time from the first war of the monsters fall, when Ceiphied and Lord Ruby Eyed Shabradnigdo battled in their decisive battle, in all that time we have made no improvement. We have failed. We have to fail, we are not good, we are evil, but we are above all deluded,and we don't see it."

She came close to the cage and looked Sylphiel in the eyes. "But I got it. See, Lord Ruby Eye, he saw the corruption, and he made it his holy mission to end it by trying to fulfill his destiny and end the world. He was right, we were wrong. But Ceiphied and the rest desired life, and couldn't, or wouldn't, accept his truth, so, they fought, and unfortunately, they won. But they were still wrong. So, you see, now that I get it, I have joined the side of righteousness and am doing my tiny little bit to help bring about the destruction of the world. That I am having immense fun and taking revenge in the process is perhaps a reward I didn't deserve but have been granted. Among other rewards, which I will not mention, at least not now."

Sylphiel shook her head. "I believe you believe this, but I cannot..." she said, quietly, obviously trying to take it all in. "You must forgive me, Miss Filia, but I just can't accept this as true."

Filia gave her a sad smile. "Wait until you have lost everyone dear to you." she said.

"But I have." replied Sylphiel. "I am from Sairaag, and I was there the night it was destroyed by Copi Rezo. In fact I was fighting him at the time, along with Gourry-dear, and Miss Lina, Miss Amelia, and, and... Zel...". She stopped and gulped, years might have gone by but the memory was forever seered into her heart. "I lost my family and my city in one explosion, done deliberately by an evil man, but though I feel the pain, even to this day, I cannot accept that people as a whole are fundamentally bad."

Filia looked a bit surprised."You have no one left at all?" she asked.

Sylphiel responded "I have an uncle who is living in Seirune. And I have my friends, like Miss Lina. Er, no, Lina now, she is married to Gourry..."

"Ah, then you didn't lose everyone." said Filia. "Married eh? Good for them, I guess. But I have no family at all, and my only friends have turned out to be my "sworn enemies". How about the fact that my people committed total genocide on the Ancient Dragons. Any such evils in your past?" she asked.

Sylphiel blinked and said "Sairaag is responsible for inventing the Zanafar armour and accidentally loosing the Zanafar Beast upon the world."

"Your people did that?" said an amazed sounding Filia. "And you still think them good?"

"They didn't all do it, why should they all be blamed?"

Good point, as far as it goes." replied Filia. "But it took all of them as a city to support the ones who actually made Zanafar. Did anyone object? And don't forget that it took all of my people to destroy the ancient dragons. Oh well, I guess you prefer to live in your comfortable delusion, Sylphiel, but I must live with the truth. Well, what more can I tell you?"

"I, I don't know..." replied Sylphiel, obviously still perplexed by Filia.

"Well, then pardon my rudeness, but my head still hurts from that drug those two idiots used on me, if you have no further questions I wish to take a nap." said Filia with a sad smile.

Sylphiel nodded. There was no healing spell she could cast through the magic of the cage, so, after saying goodbye she left Filia and went out to have a long, long think. 


	31. Chapter 33

The day passed, and the night, and the next morning found a watchful semi-silence over Seirune. Anticipating the arrival of the Beastmaster, Prince Phil had put the full extent of his military, magical as well as fighting, on full alert. Priests and priestessess were at critical magical points throughout the city praying and conjuring up all the protective magic they could. Even Sylphiel took her turn.

"It's the waiting, it's always the damned waiting, it's put me off of everything, even my food..." sighed Lemmy, gripping Jack's handle in frustration as she ate an early breakfast. This drew more than a few raised eyebrows as she was eating with Lina and Gourry, and seemed to be keeping up with both of them.

Luna chuckled. "Ah tension..." she said. Then she turned to Ayn and asked "How goes it with the prisoner?"

"Well, we are still at the hopeless stage." sighed Ayn. "I don't know if she's insane, deluded, or both, but she has clearly given herself totally and utterly over to the dark side. The thing I like the least though is her damned giggling. I know she's hiding something big, but I don't know what it is, and it worries me."

"Ah, you just don't like that she's laughing at you like everyone else." teased Luna, rather unkindly.

Ayn cocked an eye at her Mistress. "After seeing the uniform you wear when you work the cocktail bar at night, I wouldn't talk about being laughable..." she counter challenged. In the background, Lina cringed.

Luna just laughed and replied "Touche, and welcome back. Missed you." Lina sighed with relief. Usually, you just didn't go around challenging big sister about waitressing unless you wanted a death match...

Ayn smiled. " Yeah, I've missed me too. Stupid fate..."

"Perhaps, perhaps not, one can't see all ends until you get there." put in Milgasa in a quiet, philosophical voice.

"What are you doing?" yelled Lemmy, startling everyone.

"Well you weren't eating it." explained Gourry in reply.

"So?" asked a totally miffed Lemmy.

"WHAT THE HELL??? YOU'RE STEALING SOME OTHER WOMAN'S FOOD???" screamed a distraught Lina. "B-but we just got married..." she went on, sobbing, as she tossed a particulary powerfull fireball at Gourry and Lemmy.

"What did I do?" yelped Lemmy in obvious pain.

"But it was just going to waste..." Gourry tried to explain as he was slammed into the wall by the shockwave.

"All this time I thought it was only me you were interested in you blackhearted deciever!" Lina went on as she struck an almost Amelia like pose with her finger in Gourry's face. "Now you shamelessly flirt with any available floozy. Why? Why Gourry? Am I not woman enough for you anymore? Are you tired of me already? Is it because she is a swordswoman? Or something else?" she added, giving her breasts a slight thrust out, in recognition of Lemmy's inevitably bigger "rack".

Lemmy quietly and quickly got herself out of there. She may not have appreciated the "floozy" remark but she sure as heck knew better than to cross a distraught Lina about it.

"Oh give over!" snapped Gourry in a rare display of annoyance. "I took an uneaten sausage off her plate and you make it sound like I was flirting with her, or worse. Besides, I was hungry and your plate was empty, so even if I wanted to steal from you, I couldn't."

"What's that got to do with anything?" yelled Lina with tears in her eyes. "It's my food you steal and my magic that righteously punishes you for it, and no one elses, got it?" she added in a pouty voice.

"Um, Lina, are you thinking of applying for Amelia's position if it comes available?" said a rather perplexed Ayn..

"Nah, I think that maybe she's just not getting enough, um, you know, sausages?" smirked Luna in a tone of voice that suggested maybe it would be wiser to end the fight.

Lina gulped and backed down, but not before she blushed deeply at the comment.

"How do you do that?" Gourry asked Luna in total amazemement.

"Trade secret, sorry." the elder Inverse sister replied, with a chuckle.

The meal and the day went on and still nothing happened. "It's as if she's just waiting, letting the tension build." commented Zel at one point as someone sighed from frustration for the umpteenth time that day.

"That's exactly what she's doing." replied Ayn with a low growl. "Psychological warfare 101, make the enemy sweat..."

"More practice?" suggested Lemmy, desperate to do something.

"Some drills maybe." replied Luna. "We can't exhaust ourselves and have her show up in the evening."

"As I said before, it's the waiting..." muttered Lemmy, trembling with supressed battle lust, and whole days of not being able to slay something, anything...

And wait they did, for Beastmaster never arrived that day, nor the next. Ayn had many talks with Filia and only ended up coming away more and more frustrated from each meeting.

"I can't get throught to her and have a meaningful conversation with her, she just keeps hurtling racial and sexual insults, and keeps giggling about her secrets. Her only regret, as she told Sylphiel, is she will be executed and won't see her eggs hatch. I don't know, but she might, in the end, be right about the execution, though it will most likely be because she annoys everyone into it. I have a feeling she thinks she's supposed to be a martyr. It is so hard at times not to hate her." complained Ayn at one point.

The third day out arrived fair and sunny. But to the bored watchers, constantly on edge, it was a wearing time, and the beauty of the day was rather lost on the residents of the city. Patrols were sent out, as usual, guards exchanged watches, and people did what they could to prepare for war. Many prayers were offered for safety, and Amelia received more than her share of those too.

And as always there was the waiting, waiting, waiting...

At two in the afternoon, the waiting ended...

A great alarm went through the city and there was almost an audible sigh of relief as it was made known that the dreaded Beastmaster, and a small party of other Mazoku had arrived at the big main gates. Naturally, Prince Phil and all his court, and the Slayers too, went as fast as they could to that gate.

Prince Phil immediately took the main position on the battlement above the gate, which put him in the best spot to negotiate, or to command an attack...

On the road below were five people. Or rather, one real person and four mazoku in human avatars. Prince Phil, and the others with him all gulped on seeing the party that was standing there.

The real person was none other than the missing Amelia. To her right was the perpetually smirking Xellos, and on her left, putting a motherly arm around the wayward Princess was the Beastmaster herself.

What was worse, though, was that behind them were a deadpan Dead Sea Dolphin, and an obviously bored Dynast, who was holding a large, long sack over his shoulder. It was hard to tell for sure, but there might have been a person in the bag.

Or a body...

After a brief, tense silence, in which the only activity was Zellas hugging Amelia, and puffing her perpetual cigarette, Prince Phil spoke.

"Greetings Noble visitors, and welcome to Seirune." he said. Okay, it wasn't very inspired, but just what do you say in greeting to the three highest and most dangerous monsters in the world when they come to call, anyway?

Beastmaster took her arm off of Amelia's shoulder and gave the Princess' shiny black hair a friendly ruffle as she stepped forward. She looked at Prince Phil and took a deep puff from her cigarette.

"Amazing. Just amazing..." she said after looking at prince Phil long enough to make him sweat. "Dear Amelia told me of your troll like good looks, but she never did you justice."

In the background Amelia blushed an intense shade of red, and from the look on her face it was obvious that Beastmaster wasn't making that part up, though maybe she was abusing what had actually been said.

"Oh yeah, she mentioned something about that when we were with those freaks of justice thingies..." muttered Gourry. He was immediately silenced by Lina.

"Don't punch him too hard now sis." murmured Luna. "If there's a battle we will need him concious."

"Sorry..." sighed Lina as she picked her husband up...

"Well, uh, I have this form and visage, and I apologise if it upsets you, Madam, but what can be done?" replied Prince Phil, trying to get things back on the diplomatic track, though it was obvious the barb had gone home a little bit. Probably because of Amelia.

But Beastmaster stood the thing on its head when she replied. "Oh my dear, dear Prince Phillionel el di Seirune! How you have misinterpreted my words! Let me talk to you face to..."

There was a soft "Bamph" and Beasmaster was suddenly beside Phil. "...face." she said, concluding her remark.

She stared at Prince Phil with a strangely happy smile on her face and a wierd light in her eyes. Could it be, uh, desire???

Ick...

"I suppose that to some humans trolls may seem rather plain, perhaps even a tad bit unattractive, but do not forget that I am a Mazoku! To me trolls are quite handsom, and even downright erotic. And as trolls go, Prince Phil, you are a GOD! Come, I beg you, let me worship you as a mere female ought to, with her whole being. Take me, Your Majesty, take me any way you want, I am yours! Let me be your mistress, and your love slave!" she said, kneeling like a supplicant before him.

"Er, uh, Madam???" sputtered a startled Prince Phil as the rest of the group gasped and instinctively stood back. After all, it wasn't every day that Prince Phil had an erotic, slinkily dressed, twenty something blonde woman kneeling at his feet begging to please him.

Especially not one who obviously meant that in a physical way...

"What, do I not meet with your approval?" asked Beasmaster as she stood back up. She sounded genuinely hurt and rejected. "Phil, please, do not reject me out of hand, I beg you. Is it my outer form? This visage is but an avatar, I can change it to any other form you desire, any other at all, just tell me who you want. Do you want someone back? I can do that. Do you secretly desire a love you aren't allowed to have? I can be her too. Or would you prefer a tall, buxom brunette? Or a petite, redhead? I can do that,no problem."

"Hey!" said Lina and Luna together, knowing full well who Zelas was refering to...

Zellas ignored them and went on, though there might have ben a hint of a wicked smile about her lips as her barb went home. "Do you fear you won't please me? I assure you that you already do, or I would not make such an offer. You have quite captivated me, something I never imagined would happen when first I started out to come here. Oh, my Prince, won't you make me yours?"

"Uh, Madam, I, uh, pardon me, but it's the suddeness of your offer. What I might do as a man I may not do as a Prince." replied Phil as he stumbled around for a diplomatic answer. One simply did not reject the Greater Beast out of hand, and not expect reprisals, after all...

"Cannot do as a Prince?" asked Beastmaster, puzzled. "Will you not one day be King? Command it to be so, who will dare oppose the man who could capture the fancy of a Mazoku Highlord?

"M-Madam, My Lady Beatmaster, a Prince simply cannot rush into a relationship of this magnitide without thinking about the consequences to his kingdom." replied a stuttering Phil.

"Relationship of magnitude?" asked a puzzled Beastmaster. Then she gave a gasp.

"Philionel!" she said sounding shocked. "Princes take lust struck mistressess every day of the week. A relationship of consequence? You can only mean one thing! I never ever dared to dream you'd want that, but YES! YES Prince Philionel el di Seirune! I accept! I will be your Queen!" she said in what sounded like utter joy, as she caught Phil up into a big hug, being sure to plan his face between her, um "feminine charms"...

A totally shocked silence settled over the court at that...

Beastmaster went on "Oh, be still my heart! What greater honour could there ever be than this? The King of the Kingdom of Holy Power will join with the Queen of Wolf Pack island! Your justice and my pragmatism will balance each other and we will be the world's first perfect kingdom! In time, just by demonstrating the perfection of our harmony, we will draw the rest of the world to us and with no need to think an unjust thought, or to rattle a weapon, they shall, of their own will, submit to us, seeking to join our perfection. Oh Philionel, how far sighted you are! Indeed I do submit to you as a good wife ought to My Lord and Husband!"

She struck what was clearly a genuine "Justice pose" as she spoke, then she bowed to Prince Phial, and then, well, she did what could only be described as a "happy dance" on the battlement and went on blissfully, as the Prince stood there trying to breath after the hug. "Oh Phil, this will be so wonderful! Why, in talking with poor Princess Amelia there I have come to realise your girls have needs that I can fulfill as I become the mother they are so sorely lacking in their lives. As your wife I will make sure they lack no more. And speaking of your daughters, with me as your Queen I just know we can find a just way to overturn that unfortunate Salique law that prevents females from inheritting the throne in Sirune. Or, even better, since you will, as my husband, naturally take the pledge to me you will live forever, and if you desire, you can free the poor dears of ever having to bear up under the hateful weight of the crown in the first place. Oh Phil! This will be perfect! What more could a man desire?"

There was an awkward silence as Phil fought for a safe answer that didn't see him instantly becoming one with Beastmaster for all eternity.

Or become one with eternity, either...

He was spared by Luna muttering "Love, perhaps?" in answer to Zellas' question.

Zellas turned an evil smirk towards her and countered with "And the Knight of Ceiphied would know of such things?"

It sounded like a downright silly cheap shot, but Lina's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as Luna staggered back as if struck, then clenched her fists and gave Zellas a look that might kill a lesser being than the Mazoku High Lord. Clearly there was something sore under the surface there...

Prince Phil's ultimate rescue happened as Dynast called out at this time "Sister, are you done trying to get laid? Do that on your own time, I have better things to do than just stand here holding the trash you brought to trade for Filia."

"Honestly..." sighed Dolphin in a still quiet voice that eerily managed to carry to every ear. "What was Daddy thinking when he made her? He had already perfected feminine evil when he made me."

Dynast actually smirked at that. "I think he had some scraps left over he wanted to use up..."

There was a temendous clap like as it were of thunder and Zellas was there before him, staring into his face with open hatred. Dynast just gave her a smug smile.

"If only they would give in to their true feelings for each other and take themselves out of this plane of existence..." muttered Ayn, relieved that the evil woman had left.

Zellas turned, vibrating in rage and went forward. She looked up and said in a business like voice "I shall return for you when time and circumstance permit, my Philionel. In the mean time, we must get on with business. You have someone of mine and I want her back. I was going to offer you this someone who, by the way, was caught raiding my treasury, in trade." she said indicating the sack which Dynast now dumped roughly on the ground. A moan of pain came from it, indicating it did indeed contain a person, and he or she was alive.

Beastmaster clapped a hand on Amelia's shoulder. The Princess trembles in obvious fear. "Now, thanks to this poor dear's broken heart, I have two someones to offer you in exchange. Will you not do the right thing and give me back my servant?

Ther was a fluffing sort of sound as Dynast removed the sack to reveal...

"Gracia..." said Phil quietly as he recognised the crumpled woman that fell out of the sack.

"N-N-N-..." was as far as Lina got before she had a wierd sort of coniption fit, combined with a faint, that left her twitching on the ground.

"Oooo, when did Lina start having seizures?" asked a concerned Sylphiel as she left Zel's side to go help Lina.

"First time..." said a perplexed Gourry, wondering what was happening to Lina and how he could help.

"Well, there might have been that time with the slugs..." muttered Luna thoughtfully, remembering something.

Prince Phil turned to his council. "We discussed this, it is time, bring forth the prisoner." he said softly.

There were no objections as someone ran off to get Filia.

"My Lady Beastmaster, Lady Filia is being brought forth. Please bear with us but a moment or two and she will be here for you." he said to the group outside the gate.

"Zellas, please, my Phil." said Beastmaster sounding hurt.

As this went on, Amelia gasped and went over to the heap that was her sister. "G-Gracie? Gracia? Wh-what are you doing here? And what are you wearing, or rather, not wearing? A-and were you really robbing her treasure vault? I thought you knew better..." she said in confusion as she helped her sister sit up. It was very evident to her that Gracia had been through a rough time recently and she shot an angry look at Zellas.

Gracia tugged at Amelaia's sleeve. "D-don't look at her like that, don't set her off." she half wispered. "I'll talk, but later. Not now, not now." she added.

Amelia gulped and nodded, then slowly helped her rather wobbly big sister stand up.

"I've missed you so terribly much." she said, a tear in her eye.

"I have missed you too, but please don't talk right now, please." her sister replied. There was fear in her voice, and hurt, and yet, it was obvious to Amelia that it wasn't just fear of Beastmaster. She nodded. "I'll be quiet." she promised.

"Oh do hurry up, these two are nauseating me." Dynast muttered.

It was only a few minutes later that an armed party was seen making its way through the street with the unmistakeable blonde tresses of Filia flowing in the middle. The crowd parted to speed their passage, the sooner that the dragon girl was gone the sooner they'd feel safer. As the reached the gate Ayn said to Milgassa "This is wrong, we are just going to end up fighting anyway, I know it."

"Alas, yes, but we can't involve the whole city." he replied, daring to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You wouldn't consider leaving that there, say, for life?" she asked, softly, shyly even.

"It would be an honour I wouldn't refuse, though I can scarce believe you'd think me worthy of it." he replied, also softly, but with a deep emotional note in his voice.

"Thank you." she replied, gulping at a lump in her throat.

"Way to go my Lady!" said a happy Luna to Ayn. There was not the slightest trace of sarcasm in her voice, a very important sign to all who heard her.

What else might have been said was lost as Filia suddenly stopped just before the gates and turned to face the crowd.

"You two, come here, please..." she said.

There was no mistaking who she meant. Gavos and Jilas were in the crowd, the only ones with tears in their eyes as she was being lead to her freedom. They hesitated, looking nervous.

Filia gave a warm soft smile and went forward. The one guard who tries to stop her found himself flat on his back from a shove far stronger than that which any human could have delivered. Filia didn't even give him a backward glance.

She caught the nervous duo into a big hug, and with a tear in her eye and a bittersweet smile on her face she said "Guys, I love you for caring enough to do what you did. I really underestimated your loyalty, you really are the best friends I could ever have had. But it's over now. I'm so sorry, but it is. I have a new life, one I've entered of my own free will, and you can't come with me."

Jilas was crying as he returned the hug. "I-I'm sorry Boss, we never meant ta get y'u in trouble, we was just tryin' ta help ya..." he said, stumbling over the words and the grammar in his passion.

"I know, I know, shh, it'll be okay, just this once,." soothed Filia. "Look guys, be warned, if you ever try it again you'll die. You can't die, not yet, someone has to remember all the happy times we had. My heart is bitter and hard, I can only remember the evil that was done, but there has to be a balance, the good must also be remembered. Will you do that for me, please? Will you remember the good, the happiness? The promise that was little Val? Let me deal with the bitterness, it'll mean so much to me if you two remember the good. It's important. Will you do that?"

The two friends nodded through their tears."We will, we promise." whispered Gavos.

Filia smiled. She let them go and actually bowed to them. "I am so grateful. Goodbye" she said, then slowly turned and continued to walk towards the gate. She looked up and saw Ayn looking down on her.

"I would have helped you so that you could also remember the good." Ayn said to her.

Filia nodded. "Would you have helped me torture my attackers and little Val's murderers to death?" she asked, surprisingly sincerely.

"Yes." replied Ayn. "Gladly."

"Then you confirm my point." Filia went on. "Our race does evil, then uses more evil to correct it. We are corrupt, Lady Ayn. In the end, we must die. Please Lady Ayn, Lord Milgassa, won't you look into your hearts and see that I am right? You would be most welcome to join us..."

"Won't you look into your heart and realise the mistake of painting the whole race of dragons with the same brush?" countered Milgassa.

"I have, it's not a mistake." replied Filia with a sad sigh.

"It grieves me beyond words, but we have to settle this in combat." said Ayn, most unhappily.

Filia nodded. she gave Ayn a sad smile. "Yes, we will. And when we do I will certainly do my best." she said.

"As will I..." replied Ayn.

They bowed to each other. Filia made to move then turned a bit and smiled.

"Lady Sylphiel! I didn't see you there, I am sorry. I do thank you for your concern for me, even though it had to come to naught. And of course, Miss Luna, Lina and Gourry, and Zelgadiss! And you have some other friends, I see. I am sorry that we have ended up on the opposite side. We could have been friends I think. Still I thank each of you for caring in your own way, and wanting me back, but please, I won't come back, don't try to make me, I beg of you."

"We are sorry too, Filia." said Lina.

"I will pray for you, regardless." added Sylphiel.

"That means a lot to me." replied Filia, bowing a last time to her old friends, and then, to everyone's relief, she left the city.

As she walked clear of the city Zellas laughed and said to the sisters Seirune "Off you go, my good ladies." There was no need for her to repeat herself. The girls maintained a dignified walk until the passed Filia, all three bowing slightly as they did so, then the girls took off at a dead run and got safe inside the city, the gates booming reasuringly shut behind them.

Filia also broke out into a joyous laugh and ran to her rescuers. She bowed to the ground before the Beastmaster, thanking her profusely, then, when he opened his arms, she jumped into Xellos grasp and brazenly kissed him full on the lips.

"You... kiss him?" asked a perplexed Luna as the other stood there, shocked yet again that afternoon.

"Can I not?" she replied, her smirking voice reappearing.

"But why?" asked Milgasa.

Filia looked to Beastmaster. "You didn't tell them?" asked the Greater Beast.

"I didn't know if I should, and I doubt they'd have let me go if they knew. It's such a violation of the dragon code it will be unforgivable, I'm afraid." she explained, laughing.

Ayn stood there, clenching her fists."So, is this why she's been giggling?" she asked.

"Good point, but we are here now, some secrets can be told." laughed Beastmaster.

Filia looked at Xellos who nodded in agreement.

Filia turned with a wicked smile.

"Because we are married..." she said, barely controlling the triumph in her voice.

"You're WHAT???!!!" cried Lina, who had been standing there quietly, still feeling a bit woozey from the shock of finding out about Naga, er, Gracia...

"N-no way..." added Amelia, who had just made it to the top of the battlement with Gracia.

"You two were enemies when we battled Darkstar." added Zelgadiss, equally perplexed.

"And what part of "I've gone over to the other side" is still giving you trouble?" asked Filia.

"You mock me as a race traitor, then reveal yourself to be a species traitor?" shouted a clearly enraged Ayn. "What does your "husband" think of the dragon you used to fertilize your eggs? And is he still alive?" she added, vibrating.

"Oh, that again? But, don't you know? Oh, of course you don't. Well, that's the best part!" said Filia, clearly glad she had made such a major hit.

"Ever hear of ValGaav?" she asked.

"Duh!" replied Lina.

"Do you know how he was made?" Filia asked.

"Apparently he was stabbed by Gaav who filled him with Mazoku life energy and made him a spiritual hybrid." responded Zel.

"Correct as far as it goes." said Filia. "Here's the trick, to accept Mazoku life he had enter a state of nonlife to his dragon side. In other words, he had to be brought to the instant of death, then infused with Lord Gaav's life force just before he fell completely into the darkness. Thus, Lord Gaav stabbed him to death, and at the very instant of that death he filled Val with Mazoku life, thus reviving him, but as a creature of mixed spirits."

"What has that to do with your eggs?" shouted Ayn, getting angrier by the moment. Milgasa tried to calm her but she was clearly enraged with what Filia had done.

"I was getting there, impatient one..." Filia smirked. "See, it turns out that unfertilised Dragon eggs, when they are ready to be fertilised and laid, are in the same dead but alive state that Val was at the instant Lord Gaav infused him, and they too can be made to receive a male Mazoku's life energy which fertilises them as well as a males dragon's seed ever could. My wonderful Mistress found all this out, and devised a way for my eggs to receive such an infusion from a male energy Mazoku. I am grateful to her that she did so, for now I can be a mother after all. I am also grateful that she found something better for me to be "stabbed" with than a nasty old sword."

She looked at Xellos, clearly worshiping him, then turned back to the stunned and silent people and dragons on the wall. "Perhaps I should say that, after appropriately tweaking him, she found someONE better for me to be "stabbed" with? She gave the now blushing Mazoku priest a great hug.

"You can what???" asked a totally stunned Lina to the priest.

"Yare, yare, only since the past few weeks or so..." explained a blushing and sweatdropping Xellos as he put a hand behind his head.

Any further conversation was stopped by a loud crack as a chunk of the battlement wall broke off and smashed to the ground. Ayn had punched it so hard she had shattered it with her dragon strength. she was clearly in a black rage. Even Luna gasped and stepped back in shock.

Beside her, Milgasa also glared at Filia in anger.

"Guys?" said Luna, carefully.

Ayn spoke. Her words were practically a hiss. "So, you, you think you have given yourself over to breeding creatures that can use the magic of both the gods and monsters? And you would dedicate them to serving the dark lord? The mere fact that you would try is unforgivable Filia, but you should know what you just described is impossible. How did your eggs get fertilised, and this time tell the truth."

"Filia! You have gone mad, haven't you?" said Lina with a tear.

Beastmaster stepped forward. "She speaks the truth. MY source for this information is the Claire Bible."

Stunned silence all around.

"H-how?" asked Lina. "The way was closed by Hellmaster?"

"Pah, only one way was closed by that little punk, wasn't it, Lord Milgasa?" she sneered.

"There is the Hellway, which no mortal creature can tread." said Milgasa.

Ayn turned, shock on her face. "Then it's possible...?" she gasped.

"I don't know what the Claire Bible has to say about breeding dragons with Mazoku, but her accessing it by the Hellway is possible, yes." he replied with a note of sadness. Once it had been his duty to guard the opening in this world to the Claire Bible, and once he had taken Lina in to use the Claire Bible, but Hellmaster had destroyed the passageway after that, and the greatest source of magical knowlege on the Red Orb was lost forever.

But, there had always been another way in for those being that could walk it...

"Trust me, I went through too much in there, and almost died more than once just from fear. Yes, fear, even for me. I went through too much to lie about it afterwards, just as I will never tread it again." said Beastmaster darkly and with a strange note of pain as if her ordeal hurt her still.

Then she fixed her gaze upon Lina and gave her an evil, evil smile.

"But then, I don't have to." she smirked cryptically."Too bad you were too fixated on your quest to merely gain knowledge about Grandmother, Lina Inverse. Or Gabrieve, whichever you wish." she said. "You missed the spell that would have given you the complete Claire Bible itself, all nicely tucked up into your memories, and accessable any time you wanted it. You could have been a goddess by now, and had both the Mazoku and the Shinzoku trembling at your feet."

Lina gasped. "There was such a spell?" she muttered. Then she frowned and said in a no nonsense tone of voice to Zelas "I aim high, but not that high, even I have my limits."

"Really?" was the sarcastic reply. "Sounds like sour grapes to me. No matter, take the pledge to me and maybe I'll let you in on it after you prove your loyalty. Or if you aren't interested, perhaps your chimeric friend there is. You see, there is a cure..."

"What?" said Zel quietly. Sylphiel grabbed him into a hug and said very earnestly "You'll become human only to lose your humanity, Zel. We'll find the cure, don't go to her, I beg of you."

Zel looked at her, smiled, and nodded. "As if..." he said softly. "I'm desperate, but not that desperate..."

"You did what?" said a perplexed looking Dynast.

"You were going to share this with us were you?" asked Dolphin in a bland but psychopathic sort of way. Well, not quite, she actually went so far as to cock an eyebrow...

"Oh, like you two saints don't have any secrets from me?" snarled the Greater Beast, as she twirled around to face her siblings. "Anyway, I believe I just did tell you, if the time and way were of my choosing, well, remember, it was my secret."

She turned back to the watchers on the wall, looked straight at the dragons and said "Believe what you want, Xellos provided the male Mazoku energy needed to bring Filia's eggs to life. After ten thousand years, I'm going to experience something new, I'm going to be a grandmother."

She then turned to the Prince. Her face actually softened as she gave him a tender smile and said "Bye bye for now my Philly, I'll be back. I do hope you don't mind that I'm an older woman, I promise that what I lack in youthful enthsiasm I more than make up for in experience. You won't regret this!"

She gave a little happy wave and turned around to walk off. Her sister and brother joined her and so did Filia and Xellos. The watchers on the wall looked on in a generally stunned silence.

There was a soft clink...

Luna turned her head.

"What are you doing?" she gasped. The others turned as well. Milgasa and Ayn stood there with drawn weapons. They looked at each other with what might have been a tender look.

"STOP." commanded Luna with all the force of Ceiphied within her. Everyone on the battlement hit the ground unable to stand, even Lina.

Except the two dragons...

Ayn turned to Luna with the hollow look of death in her eyes. "Forgive us..." she said as they lept from the battlement and charged the departing group of monsters. 


	32. Chapter 34

"What are they doing?" gasped Sylphiel as she got up and ran to the edge of the battlement.

"Ayn. Milgasa. Stop this instant." ordered "The Knight of Ceiphied" at the top of her lungs, but the dragons ran on, heedless. "GYAHHHH!" snarled a frustrated Luna, pulling at her hair. "They want to kill Filia before she can make more hybrids. But this is so NOT the time or place. Idiots! They've let their passion for Dragon Justice outrun their common sense. Oh gods, oh gods! Now I have to stop them."

With that she took out her amulet and transformed into "The Knight". She made ready to jump down and run after the dragons "You can't go it alone, big sister, there are too many Mazoku." said Lina as she prepared to leap down with Luna. There was a strange finality in her voice that took any thought of arguing out of Luna. She gave her little sister an awed look, Lina could stand up to her? Then she smiled and said "I can't think of anyone I'd rather have at my side, sis, thanks."

"Hey! I'm coming too, Lina." said Gourry as he drew the blast blade. "You know you won't get far without your guardian." He gave her a smirk and a wink.

"Love you too..." smiled Lina in reply.

"I'm going too." said Lemmy. Then she looked down. "Uh, it's a bit far, can someone help me down?" she asked, a little subdued.

"Glad to." said Zelgadiss he moved beside her and took an arm. His wife did the same for Lemmy's other arm.

"Well, then, CHARGE!" shouted Luna, and the gang leapt to the ground and took off in pursuit.

On the battlement Amelia made ready to leap. She grabbed her startled sister's arm and said with passion "Come on Gracia, here's where we stop evil, kick butt, and get payback, all as we administer justice!"

Suddenly, the heavy hands of Prince Phil clapped down on their shoulders.

"No." he commanded with authority.

"But... Daddy???" said a startled Amelia as she tried to get out of his grip and carry on to help her friends.

"No." commanded Phil, again. His voice became softer, and much, much sadder as he went on. "Listen daughter, now you must learn why the crown is so heavy. Yes, they are our friends, yes their cause is just, but no, if we get involved it will cause the Mazoku to go to war with Seirune, and many, many lives will be lost. It is hard to bear, my heart is with yours, and if it was just you and me we'd already be running to join them, as we have done in the past. But alas, we cannot abandon our responsibilities to the kingdom. If a single person from Seirune gets involved the Mazoku High Lords will join forces and attack us, and for all that we are the kingdom of Holy Magic, we have our limitations. To have three such powerful beings attacking us may be more than we can bear. I am sorry, Amelia. It hurts to do this, I don't mean to abandon our friends, nor the justice of their cause, but in this case duty is paramount. We must protect Seirune and trust Miss Luna and Lina and hope they gain the victory."

Amelia looked stunned. Her mouth quivered for a long time before she could speak. "Y-you aren't seriously planning to join with Beasmaster, are you?" she asked, feeling confused and overwhelmed.

"You should know me better than that." snapped an angry Phil.

Amelia cringed, it was very, very rare for daddy to be upset with her.

Gracia intervened. "It's worse than you think. There is trouble coming, big trouble. If the Slayers cannot stop them now, Seirune will have to stop those monsters later. We cannot go, now." she said in a dark, fear filled voice.

"W-what trouble?" asked Amelia, perplexed.

"Not here, not... in what is possibly her... ear shot..." said Gracia as she first gave Beastmaster a fearfilled glance, then sat down into a little ball and looked like a scarred little girl, not the rival of the world's greatest sorcery genius.

Amelia gulped and stood down. "If this goes badly for them, daddy, what do we do?"

"For now, we pray." was the response.

On the field the Slayers were closing on the Dragons. Unfortunately, the dragons were closing on the Mazoku and were clearly going to arrive first. "STOP, DAMNITALL, STOP!!!" screamed Luna.

"I believe they are closing, Mistress." said Xellos casually. Of course the Mazoku had been aware of the charge since it began...

"If only I had my mace..." sighed Filia, preparing to meet Ayn unarmed.

"Oh, that's no problem." said Beasmaster taking a long drag on her cigarette holder. She then handed it to Filia and said "Here."

The dragon girl took it with a perplexed look on her face that quickly turned to joy as the holder sudenly transmuted into the biggest, heaviest, and most dangerous looking mace she had ever seen. Just as she started to gush her thanks there was a sudden power surge and she glowed. Suddenly, she was covered with pure white armour. She sceamed with battle lust and turned to face Ayn.

"Right." said the black dragon as she called forth her own black armour.

"White as evil, black as good..." smiled Milgasa.

"Damn straight." Ayn grimly smiled back as she finished closing the distance.

"Ayn! No." shouted Luna, but to no avail. Ayn swung her flail and screamed with her own battle fury, directing the blow square at Filia's head. Her rival screamed with a bererker rage and swung her mace up to block the first blow and tried to arc it down on Ayn's head. Naturally, physics had to go and intervein, and the chain of the flail wrapped around the shaft of the mace, entangling the two weapons.

As the combatants struggled to kick each other and free their weapons Milgasa saw an opportunity and delivered a slashing blow to Filia.

Had it connected the battle might have been decided right there, but a curiously shaped priest's staff, with a red ball on the end, intervened and deflected the sword. "Now, now..." smirked Xellos, his dangerous purple eyes wide open and glowing with murder. He aimed the staff at Milgasa and sent forth a killing blast of energy.

Xellos, in his turn, realised the danger of being too focused too late, as a flash of purple and a clanging magical sword cut his staff in half, slashed his belly, and almost pierced his heart as he leapt back just in time. The wounds were not fatal to a mazoku, but they hurt. And they also put him on notice...

Luna had arrived.

"Pick on someone your own size, bastard priest." she commanded.

"It was nice knowing you." sneered Zelgadiss, arriving at the same time and unleashing a Ra Tilt at the Trickster Priest as he tried to heal as rapidly as possible. Just behind him Lina was clearly preparing to start with an explosion, from the intensity of the pink swirls it looked to be a Dragon Slave of tremendous proportions too.

But, there were other players on the other side as well. As Luna prepared to strike again, a slender, delicate even, hand, so very feminine, yet full of unbelievable strength, grabbed her and literally tossed her to one side.

"Speaking of picking on people your own size, Luna..." sneered Beastmaster. The HighLord started walking towards the Knight of Ceiphied as she picked herself up off the ground. A brilliant glow surrounded the Greater Beast. She seemed to grow, no, she DID grow, and transmute...

The delicate, slinky twenty something blonde bimbo was gone. Now, a giant werewolf suddenly stood before Luna, clad in spiky armour and wielding two large long triangular swords. Worst of all, though, to Luna, were the eyes, the right one was pure white, and the left one was pure black. No pupils or irises, just a solid tint. The Knight gulped.

"You like this game, Luna?" sneered Zelas harshly, her voice as rough and dangerous as her battle form. "Me too, let's play..."

Luna barely had time to get her sword up before Beastmaster closed the distance and slashed at her with both her swords. Loud clangs and classic sparks flew out from the meeting of the swords, and battle was joined.

Lina was almost done chanting the dragon slave and was planning the best place to throw it in order to help her sister, but a white ribbon grabbed at her and pulled her around, breaking the spell. She gasped as she realised the ribbon was actually the sleeve from Dolphin's robe. "You had a go at my brothers Lina Inverse, let's see how well you do against a truely superior Mazoku, a female one." she said.

Gone was the usual emotionless face and demeanor of the other high lady of evil. Dolphin was now animated in a most hideous way. Lina gulped. So, the rumours of her madness were true, but not the way she was reported. Lina did not face a confused bubbly mush head who was prone to interject her sentences with the word "Fishy", causing one to appear, as was so often reported. No, Dolphin's true madness was that of a sadistic, psychopathic murderess. The emotionlesss face she usually presented was but the deceptive calm of the ocean's surface. Now Lina was facing the horror that lurked beneath, as Dolphin's inner murderous nature burst forth like an unstoppable tsunami. And it was aimed at Lina.

"Oh, that, I thought you wanted something serious from me." Lina sneered. As if Dolphin was going to get to see her sweat...

"Hey, you aren't having fun without me are you, Lina?" smiled Gourry as he took up a position beside his wife. But that was as far as he got. Turning on instinct he got the Blast Blade up just in time to shatter an incoming block of ice.

"Hey, you." said Dynast, as he charged down on Gourry. He too had transmuted into his battle form, an imposing armoured warrior with an expressionless silver metal mask, helmet really, from which sprouted two backwards curling horns.

"Oh now I remember you." said Gourry in an oddly cheerful voice, as if greeting an old friend.

"You only got me last time because you caught me by surprise with that hidden sword of yours. It won't happen this time. I demand a rematch!" snarled Dynast. "And I have Sherra to avenge." More ice flew at Gourry and in a short time he was driven far from Lina's side.

Lina glared. This was just great. She focuses on Dolphin and realised that she'd just have to trust Gourry to survive until she could get there. "You aren't going to change?" she smirked at her opponent, trying to buy time.

"Come to the ocean and I'll gladly show off the true beauty of my battle form, Lina Inverse." sneered Dolphin in response. "Here's a hint, they don't call me "Dolphin" for nothing..."

Help arrived unexpectedly as Dolphin again sent the sleeves of her gown out to grab Lina, acting like two unnatural tentacles. A flash, a slash, and they floated away to the ground, detached from the gown. Lemmy, for it was she and Jack who had arrived to aid Lina, gave a scream and turned to slash Deep Sea Dolphin as if she were but a practice target. If the Mazoku Lord was planning on using fear to win her fight she had to be severely dissapointed by now.

Zel and Sylphiel stood confused for a moment as the battle sorted itself out before them. Then Sylphiel gave a quick shove to Zel. "Help Gourry, he needs magical aid." she said. Zel nodded and ran towards Dynast, drawing his sword and charging it with an Astral Vine spell as he did so.

Sylphiel turned back towards Milgasa and Xellos, to find the servant of Zelas again attacking the Golden Dragon warrior. She was frightened, but she knew what to do. Summoning her own magic she raised up her hands and snapped off a spell straight at Xellos.

"Recovery!" she chanted sending a tremendous burst of white magic into the Priest. Xellos gave a scream and looked at her in surprise as he fell to the ground. "Now, now, Sylphiel, that was uncalled for." he gasped as he twisted quickly on the ground to avoid Milgasa's sword.

"I-I'm sorry." said Sylphiel, tearfully, "I can't let you hurt Lord Milgasa."

Milgasa set up for another attack. He smiled gently despite the circumstances and said "Only you could have a tender enough heart to apologise for a Mazoku's pain." to the Priestess.

"I, uh, I didn't want to..." she began.

"Please, play fair." said Xellos, clearly nauseated by Sylphiel's concern.

Milgasa swung on, and missed, by at most a hair, as Xellos ducked inhumanly fast. The two warriors dissappeared for a moment as they fought too fast to be seen. Sylphiel prepared another Recovery, and in a few seconds, when Xellos and Milgasa reappeared she slammed it into the black priest. Again he staggered back, confused and in pain...

Meanwhile, Ayn and Filia had resumed their battle, their weapons finally free. They did exchange a few pleasantries, fortunately in dragon, which meant that only Milgasa, and maybe the Mazoku, knew just how foul their mouths were, but for the most part they both realised that this was it, their final battle, and they didn't waste much energy on pointless insults.

After all, death was on the line...

The dragons moved fast, attack followed attack, and there seemed to be little thought for defence, so great was their fury. It was a tribute to the skill of the dragon weaponsmiths that Ayn's flail withstood the repeated clashes with Filia's mace, made from the substance of Beastmaster herself. The women were swift and supple in their movements, many blows were dodged by literally a hair's breadth, and there were a few locks of both black and blonde hair that drifted away as a result. Some blows weren't dodged so well, then there was blood, and pain, both of which were ignored. It was, unfortunately, a grudge match, so the honest praising of an opponent's skill often exchanged between two warriors was lacking, just hot passion, even rage. It was an ugly fight.

Luna found her fight to be very intense, and she realised almost at once that Beastmaster outclassed her in almost every way. She would need every last ounce of willpower that Ceiphied could give her to stay focused with the intensity she needed to survive. Zelas had her on the defensive almost from the start. If only Dolphin hadn't taken up Lina, the two sisters would easily out class any single Mazoku Lord, but there were three of them here. She knew she would just have to hold on and hope that help would arrive, something she found displeasing. She was a warrior, damn it all, she should be attacking...

Gourry was busy too. Dynast's initial attacks were mostly those involving his beloved ice, but he quickly changed to energy as it fited his advantage. The Blast Blade performed marvelously, cutting through any attack, physical or magical, but Gourry was also at a disadvantage in that one on one Dynast was too fast for him. And as Dynast had said, Gouury's near fatal attack on him had been due to the fact that no one had realised that Gourry's current sword had been hidden inside the ratty foil he had thought he had started out with. He really had caught Dynast by surprise, a mistake that Dynast was clearly not about to make again.

But then Zel had shown up and the tables had turned to something closer to a fair fight. The two men took opposite sides of the dark lord and kept him at a bit of a disadvantage by making sure he could never fully give his attention to just one fighter. It was hard work, but it did keep their opponent off balance, for a few minutes.

What helped the Slayers the most in this dangerous battle was the mazoku tendancy to go it alone. If the three High Lords, as well as Filia and Xellos, had joined forces and acted as a unit they would have swept all before them, as Phil so rightly feared. And perhaps, if Seirune did get involved, they would have, but for now, they were clearly enjoying themselves in their individual combats.

This was perhaps nowhere more evident than in Lina's battle. The problem was simply one of unfamiliarity. Lemmy knew her stuff, she was easily Gourry's equal, but what she didn't know was Lina's timing, nor Lina, hers. As a result she was always being late, or early, or in the way, and Lina was getting very frustrated. She had fought with Gourry for so long now that she had become too used to his moves, and he to hers. It was as if they could read each other's minds. But Lemmy was new to Lina, and obviously used to going it alone.

"Lemmy, get out of the way!" Lina yelled in frustration for at least the dozenth time as Lemmy pressed an advantage with her sword by blocking a shot from Lina. "Hey! I'm not the one that keeps getting in the way!" Lemmy retorted, clearly frustrated by it all too.

Dolphin plainly thought the whole thing endlessly hilarious, as her derisive laughter showed. So far, mostly all the Mazoku Lady had had to do was keep moving in ways that entangled the champions strategies in each others, and they were doing the rest. She watched them keenly, clearly ready to pounce at the opportune moment.

Which came very soon. Lina had summoned another fireball and was locked and loaded. She lined up her target, and prepared to toss. Sure enough, just as she was throwing it, Lemmy, hacking away at Dolphin's never ending cloth ribbons walked into it. There was a tremendous explosion, a tremendous scream, and Lemmy landed in a tremendous heap.

"Tremendous..." snarled Lina.

"What was that for?" yelled Lemmy as she shot up from the ground and fixed an evil look upon Lina. Naturally, Lina replied in kind and shouted back "You're the one that walked into it. Where do you get off blaming me?"

The whole exchange took a matter of seconds. But it was Dolphin's chance and she took it. To this point the girls had been fighting against only two ribbons from her sleeves, it apparently never crossed their minds that she might have been holding back. Or if it did they were obviously too frustrated at the moment to concentrate on it.

To their extreme danger...

"Hey!" laughed Dolphin. "A fight. I want in on this too!" As she spoke there was a sudden rush, and each sleeve spouted four ribbons. They dashed straight to the girls and Lemmy and Lina suddenly found themselves grabbed at the wrists and ankles and lifted off the ground.

"Not good..." said Lemmy, rather subdued, and clearly embarassed...

Dolphin gave the girls a good tug that spread their limbs out wide, and which rather hurt too. "Lemme down, lemme down!" shouted Lina with a rare note of desperation in her voice. This was, after all, undignified, to say the least...

"Ah, ah, ah..." smirked Dolphin, waving a finger at Lina. "Someone forgot to say please..."

"So I flunked manners..." replied Lina, sarcastically, as she struggled against the ties that bound her.

Lemmy was snarling and fighting as best she could. "Hey! Put me down. I haven't had a chance to kill something yet!" she shouted in frustration.

"Oh? You like killing?" said an interested Dolphin.

"She lives for it..." said Lina.

"What?" snapped Lemmy.

"Well? How many times have you moaned in the last several days you hadn't killed something lately?" Lina asked as she continued to wrestle with her captivity.

"Well yourself!" replied Lemmy hotly. "I love killing, is that a crime?"

Lina shook her head, there was no arguing with some people.

Dolphin, however, seemed to take an interest in the swordswoan's words. "Oh, ho, you have the same hobby that I do? Now isn't this interesting. How badly do you want to kill, right now?" she said.

Ohhhh, nothing would make me happier!" said Lemmy with some enthusiasm.

"Ah, and what do you like to kill?" asked Dolphin.

Lemmy explained "Well, when I started, I killed anything or anyone that I thought needed it. But then I met the Princess Amelia there, and she explained to me that I might get into trouble if I killed so indiscriminantly, so I decided to only kill evil things after that, and I have."

Dolphin gave her a funny look and smiled "And what is evil?"

Lemmy looked thoughtful. "Well, anything or anyone that, uh, you know, does bad things."

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" sighed Lina.

"No." said Dolphin, looking at Lemmy and ignoring Lina. "I don't know, what does "bad" mean?" she asked.

"Well, uh, gee, it's when people do things they shouldn't, like hurt other people, or kill my father and steal his magic, that sort of thing." Lemmy replied, fumbling a bit.

Dolphin cocked an eyeball. "And would that include attacking travellers from behind? Especially when they were leaving after peacfully resolving a kidnapping?"

"Ah, er well, that is..." stumbled Lemmy.

"Whoa, Lemmy, don't let her draw you out." said Lina, sounding concerned. "Don't forget who, or what, she is."

"Oh? And what am I, Lina?" asked Dolphin, very quietly, and very dangerously. "A truce is a truce, where is it written that being a Mazoku exempts us from the right not to be attacked? We came for my sister's pet, and we left with her. Along the way we picked up some useful trade items, but they came to us, not we to them. For that matter, Filia the dragon came to sister Zelas of her own free will after being hurt and attacked by her own kind, and received help. In what way have we done anything wrong?"

"What about the "Destroying Angel?"" replied Lina.

"What about it?" responded Dolphin. "It is a poisonous mushroom that is deadly to eat, but if you are implying that that makes it evil, I say it is only context, the mushroom simply wants to fulfill its destiny and being poisonous helps it to do so. In like fashion Filia has a destiny to fulfill, and she destroys what she must in order to meet it. She no doubt seems evil to some, but she seems good to others. Good and evil are only matters of context, not absolutes."

"I'm officially confused..." said Lemmy, sounding it...

"Situation Ethics, don't fall for it." replied Lina.

"It means that what I think is evil and what you think is evil are two different things." Dolphin went on. "Who is right? For example, your beloved Princess Amelia would have you believe that someone must do evil before they can be slain, but I ask, if you suspect someone is about to do evil, why can't you slay them preventitively? Where is the benefit in waiting for a thief, or a murderer to strike first? If she had known that an assasin was going to strike down her mother, and discovered who he was and where he was, I wonder if your dear little "Justice Princess" would have waited for her mother to die before acting."

"There's a difference between suspected and confirmed." said Lina, hotly, still trying to get free of the bonds.

"Alright, you and yours have just attacked me and mine in what I "suspect" is an attempt to murder us." sneered Dolphin. "Why should we wait until you do before we defend ourselves?"

"N-now you are invoking self defence, no fair." sputtered Lina in return. "If you had looked into the facts you'd see we were trying to stop the two Dragons, not attack you."

"But you attacked us anyway." said Dolphin, far too matter of factly...

"I-I'm confused..." said Lemmy, tears of frustration in her eyes. "Who are the bad guys here?"

"They are." replied Lina and Dolphin at the same time.

"You need to become a full fledged Knight and let your Lord or Lady decide for you whom to slay." said Dolphin, with uncharacteristic kindness, to Lemmy.

"Become my knight. Take the pledge to me, live forever, and kill as I tell you. You shall always be doing right, because you are obeying me, and you will never want for targets." she offered.

Lemmy stopped struggling. "I can?" she said sofly, and seriously, clearly considering the offer.

"Oh yes..." said Dolphin equally softly and seriously.

"Lemmy?" asked a very worried Lina. What was the sword crazy woman up to?

"I think I might like what you offer." Lemmy said, very seriously.

""You must pass a test to prove it." replied Dolphin.

Lemmy nodded. "Command me." she said.

Dolphin studied her for a moment, then gently put her down and gave Lemmy her freedom.

"Kill Lina." was the curt command.

Lemmy prepared to strike.

Lina's eyes went wide... 


	33. Chapter 35

All the battles raged on, swiftly. Gourry and Zel had all they could do keeping even with Dynast, but it seemed that he too had his hands full with them. If anything this tended to enrage the dark lord, after all, he had gone through this with the battle with Lina and Gourry, and here he was again, being held back by two morehumans. True, one of the horrid creatures did have the Blast Blade, and the other was fairly expert with Shamanistic attacks, but still, this was ridiculous.

Zelgadiss also felt the frustration. Dynast was so quick that any really major attack was impossible, there was no time to complete the chant before he was under assault yet again. He was getting a bit desperate to come up with a strategy. If only he could get some time, just a few seconds, to prepare something properly. He was getting tired, and so was Gourry, though it would be a while yet before they were so exhausted that they were in danger. Still, even a little exhaustion increased the chances of a slip up dramatically.

Like the one that occured just now...

A swing from Dynast almost caught Zel full force! His chimeric body and his reflexes saved him, but he was knocked back and to his knees. Gourry was there in a flash and redirected the assault onto himself, leaving Zel a precious few seconds to recover. But Zel was able to use them wisely. He had fallen, but once he was down he realised his opportunity. Trusting Gourry to keep himself alive for a few seconds he let the blond warrior take the full brunt of the battle as he grabbed a chance to call up an astral spell. Now, to wait for the opportune moment...

Dynast was aware of Zel, but the dangerous swinging dance of the Blast Blade was enough to keep him busy for a few crutial seconds. Gourry was expertly meeting attack with counter attack and despite himself Dynast had to turn his full attention to the blue whirlwind of death before him in order to dodge a blow and set up for a counter attack.

Just what Zel wanted! "Elemikia Lance!" he shouted, releasing the spell and shoving the energy spear through the Mazoku. Of course it wasn't enough to seriously hurt a monster with the power of Dynast, but boy did it sting, and it did serve to disable him a bit.

Gourry took the turn to go on the offensive and stabbed desperately at his foe. He caught the breastplate of the dark lord and cut it open, but Dynast was able to twist too fast, and the blow was not abel to become fatal as he twisted out of the way.

Still, it was evident from his curse that he was seriously annoyed he had come so close to death, again, at Gourry's hands. He danced away, healing as he went. "Okay, no more Mister Nice Monster..." he hissed in his rage.

"Temper, temper..." countered Zel.

"You think I joke?" snarled the enraged being.

"No, but I do." replied the chimera, cooly. As if Dynast was going to get to him. Still, it was dissapointing that Gourry had not been able to land a solid blow...

"Laugh out of the other side of your face then." roared Dynast as he charged back into the fray. He swung and charged and battled furiously and quickly and the battle again became a melee of attacks, dodges, and counters.

Then a mortal scream swept across the battlefield...

Xellos and Milgasa proved to be more evenly matched than the dark priest would have liked. Mind you, if Sylphiel hadn't been there...

The thing that was difficult for him was the combination of Milgasa's speed and Sylphiel's holy magic. If Xellos went after Sylphiel then Milgasa was able to get in and out with a telling blow, and if the trickster turned to stop him then Sylphiel slipped in some sort of a white attack, not always strong, but annoying enough to make it hard to work through. He wished he could just let go and release some energy, or better yet, some cones on them, but they required concentration to hit their target. Milgasa could dodge them, and to concentrate on Sylphiel left him open to an attack from the dragon Lord. So, he was a bit limited in his options, a situation he found far more frustrating than he would have liked. He needed to wrap this up quickly so he could help Filia. He knew she was a good fighter, but he also knew Ayn was better, it was only a matter of time.

Still, Xellos wasn't without resources. He was slippery and hard to hit, and he had no compunctions about doing what he had to in a fight. There were times he was able to effectively zip through the astral plane and appear behind one or the other and resort to a good old fashioned head whacking, stunning the target. Usually this was Sylphiel, who had begun to reveal that Holy Priestesses did indeed understand the roccoco intricacies of jaudy abuse after all, as the saying went. In other words, she wasn't limiting herself to "Oh My..."

And she had apparently gotten over apologising to Xellos when she hurt him back.

Xellos laughed to hear her swear in a particularly colourful way after a thud that actually drew blood from her scalp. "My apologies, Priestess, but I must say you seem to be getting the hang of naughty language." he laughed as he danced away from a skilful series of strokes delivered by Milgasa that managed to atleast knock a chip out of his staff.

"Forgive me mother, father..." muttered Sylphiel as she quickly applied a minor spell to her injuy. Not a full healing, but enough to staunch the bloood and reduce the pain. She knew that she'd have to give Xellos a particuarly big shot to slow him down enough for Milgasa. She sighed and wondered what Anesha would do. Oh well, no time to fly down and ask, now. She dug in and prepared a "Resurection" spell, hoping to trick him with it.

Naturally, Xellos proved to be too sensitive and too fast to let her get to him with it. He was always out of range and moving.

Except for the time he stood to face Milgasa, intending to deliver a great blow.

Sylphiel proved to be smarter than they had realised as she suddenly dropped the "Resurection" to reveal another spell she had somehow hidden within. A spell with range...

"Ra Tilt!" she commanded, releasing the spell her husband had helped her to perfect. And with perfect aim.

Xellos gasped in pain as the spirit based Shamanistic Spell slammed into him with unbelievable energy. He hadn't quite realised she was THIS strong! Worse, he barely ducked a vicious swing from Milgasa. He was so weak he kept on going and hit the ground. Not good...

He managed to roll out of range as his assailants were distracted by a mortal scream that rent the air...

Lina screamed as Lemmy swung, then the sound died on her lips as the swordswoman turned her blow at the last second and cut her free from Dolphin's bonds. "AS IF!!!" Lemmy shrieked as she charged at Dolphin, leaving Lina a few seconds to recover.

Lina blessed her as she had rarely ever blessed anyone in her life.

Oh, but what spell to use? The battle field was too busy twisting and turning to let her set off a major spell. Worse, her repertoir of magic spells were mostly of the physical attack kind and would have limited use on the astal beings they were fighting, while at she same time considerably endangering her own comrades. The Ragna Blade would be perfect now, if it was just against Dolphin, but it would wear her out so fast that she would be useless, and totally vulnerable to attacks from all the others.

But, there was one she might try. It was almost as powerful, she could use it against mazoku, and it had a delicious irony to it as well...

But first things first...

"Lords of the Darkness and of the Three Worlds, I call upon you, grant me all the power you possess"

She sighed as only three of her Talismans powered up. The chant had originally been to the Dark Lords of the four worlds, but Darkstar never responded anymore, not since that "incident" where they first met Filia...

Well, this would do, it would have to...

Lina had planned after this to call up a Zellas Brid and use it to attack Dolphin, pitting the power of the BeastMaster against the Deep Sea, but alas, she never got the chance.

Even as Lemmy had turned to charge Dolphin more tentacles of cloth had appeared as if from nowhere and grabbed the screaming sword swinger. In less time that it takes to tell of it the girl was again up in the air, bound by a tentacle around each arm or leg.

Dolphin laughed in evil glee. "As if anything that cheap and tawdry would fool me. Silly human, tricks are for Mazoku. Oh well, it amused me to give you a chance, and who knows, if you had obeyed I might have had mercy on you, but now, you did as I foresaw, and will be punished in kind."

With that little speech she flipped Lemmy upside down and summoned two more tentacles.

The remaining two tentacles had, in the meantime, snuck up on the chanting Lina, and, just as she was going to start to call on her next spell, one wrapped around her body, lifting her up from from ground while the other wrapped around her mouth, stopping any more chanting or magic use.

Bugger!

But it was Lemmy that bore the brunt of Dolphins psychopathy. No sooner was she upside down then, naturally, her long skirt and all her swords fell down, covering her, and rather roughly bonking her on the face at the same time. That hurt.

What happened next hurt worse. Dolphin laughed and used one of her tentacles to whip off Lemmy's panties. The girl screamed with rage and embarassement, but it quickly turned to pain as Dolphin started to spank her.

And laugh about it.

Worse yet were the spitefully laughed out promises of a good oldfashioned hentai tentacle rape afterwards. Dolphin meant it, too. Lina screamed into her gag. If she could only get her mouth free, her talismans were powered up still, oh gods, help...

Lemmy's bottom was a painful shade of red and Dolphin was looking like worse was on the very verge of coming to pass, when a blood curdling mortal scream was heard...

Ayn was so focused on Filia that the world could have ended and she wouldn't have known it until her fight was over. It was very intense, back and forth, no quarter given, or asked for, and blood, lots of blood, as the two dragon women proved to be nearly evenly matched, and quite deadly.

Nearly being the operative word.

As the fight went back and forth it slowly became clear that Ayn was simply the better of the two. Her attacks were faster and more on target. Worse, for Filia, the younger dragon girl had a general idea where to hit, but Ayn clearly knew where the nerve points were and targeted them with great accuracy. Filia was quickly on the defensive most of the time, though her style of fighting was to attack and attack, and it had some good points as it kept Ayn from dropping her own guard completely, which prevented her own all out attack. So, it didn't end quickly, but slowly Ayn was wearing away at Filia, and if left to themselves there would be but one conclusion.

Talk was useless, neither felt like complementing the other, and there was no question of surrender, so, except for battle screams and cries of pain and rage the battle was essentially silent.

Finally the moment came. Ayn twisted around and got inside of Filia's attack. She landed a palpable hit on Filia's solar plexus and the blonde dragon went down with a gasping grunt and collapsed, unable to breath or move for a few seconds. All that Ayn needed to finish it.

It was then that a mortal scream wrenched her away from what she was doing...

Luna had been on the damned defensive since the begining. She wasn't able to see what was happening elsewhere, she could only hope that the others were okay. She kept slashing and blocking and deflecting, but Beastmaster was walking her around the battlefield.

"Not bad for a human, I'm impressed." sneered the great werewolf that was Zellas' battle form. "Of course I'd be more impressed if you hadn't attacked us in the first place. Oh well, the true, treacherous nature of the Knight of Ceiphied is revealed at last. Will the world learn?"

"You're a strange one to talk about that..." grunted Luna as she clashed with a swing from the GreaterBeast. Ouch, that hurt...

"Something the matter dear?" asked Zellas almost kindly at seeing Luna's pain.

"You could just stop this you know." said Luna as she again deflected and stepped back. "I came to stop Ayn and Milgasa, not support them."

"Oh yes, it so looked like that when we saw you charging up in full armour." the dark lady replied, bearing down on Luna again. ""For certain she's here to save us", I said to myself."

"I was afraid Ayn might get violent. Please, believe me, I didn't want a fight with you." gasped Luna.

Beastmaster laughed. "Get violent? Charging us intending to kill my daughter in law isn't violent already? I should believe this, should I?"

"Believe what you will, I speak the truth. I am sorry, if that's any help..." Luna replied.

Zellas was slient for a bit, then said, in an enigmatic tone "Yes, I believe you are, how strange."

The fought for some minutes with out saying anything further. As they fought Luna noticed a weakness in Zellas' fighting. She knew she had to try and use it, she wouldn't last much longer, Ceiphied inside her or not. She set up as best she could and waited for an opening.

It wasn't long coming. Beastmaster swung and missed and left a perfect opening, just for a fraction of a second. Just long enough. Luna stabbed as hard as she could.

"Wondered how long you'd take to fall for that." smiled Beastmaster as she dropped her swords and grabbed Luna's hand and arm

"Shit. A trap." gasped Luna, as she was forced painfully down to her knees by the strength of the GreaterBeast.

Oh this was sooooo not good...

"I guess you win..." she said through her pain.

"Guess I do..." said Zellas in a way too matter of fact voice.

There was a space as the warriors just stood or knealt there. Luna looked up as Zellas looked down. "Isn't this where you kill me?" asked the Knight.

"Why? What's the fun in that?" growled the wolf being back to her.

"W-what are you going to do then?" asked Luna, unsure what to expect.

A slow, evil smile came to Zellas' lips, which, given that they were in werewolf form was indeed frighteningly hideous to behold. "Please understand that I hold you in the highest regard. I would as soon destroy a stained glass window as an artisan such as yourself Luna Inverse. But, I can't leave you to fight again either, can I?" she smirked down at Luna.

"Wh-what do you..." said a now frightened Luna as it began to dawn on her what was about to happen.

"Luna, I am actually sorry for this, but..." sighed Zellas.

There was a racking twist and a sudden, wrenching pull. Luna wished whoever it was that was making that mortal scream would stop, didn't they know she was in pain here? Just before she passed out it dawned on her that she was was the screamer...

Things happened very fast after that.

Gourry and Zel were able to disengage as Dynast stood there trying to see what had happened, and the two warriors ran towards the sound.

Xellos rolled out from his fight and grabbed a chance to heal, wondering what had just happened. Milgasa and Sylphiel looked around, Sylphiel in great fear that someone needed her help.

Dolphin stopped hitting Lemmy and turned to see. "Oh, did she? YES!" she shouted in glee, then she simply dropped her captives and ran off to see. Lina jumped up and did her best to help Lemmy get untangled as the swordswoman tried to stop crying. She had her own pain but whoever screamed had much worse.

It was Ayn who saw clearly what happened. She had turned at the scream, recognising Luna's voice instantly. The only thing on earth that could have ever pulled her away from her own fight. Beastmaster was standing there holding something up as Luna first screamed like no human should be capable of, then dropped unconcious at her enemy's feet. She turned to face Zellas and took a deep breath in. Ignoring the sounds of Filia getting up behind her she aimed carefully and let forth the greatest blast of laser breath she had ever generated.

Alas, before she could see it's effect, her world went black.

Forever...

But her aim was true and Zellas was suddenly hit with a tremendous blast of pain as the beam shot straight into her. She almost dropped what she was holding as she fell over in agony. Dolphin and Dynast were there all of a sudden. They gathered her up and simply vanished into the astral plane with their "sister".

Xellos ran up to Filia who was laughing and laughing and licking the gore from her mace in an almost insane extacy. Without a word he scooped her up and followed the others.

Lina and the others were on the spot almost at once. "LUNA!" screamed Lina as she went to scoop her sister up. Sylphiel grabbed her. "Wait Lina, wait until I make sure her neck isn't broken, please!" she cried. Lina backed off and was almost instantly hugged into Gourry's arms. "H-help her Sylphiel, please." she said, desperation in her voice.

Sylphiel's exam was quick, but thorough. "She's been hit several times with a sword, but no major damage. Her neck is fine, it just her right hand. It's been ripped off her arm..." she said, felling a bit nauseated. But she had work to do, so she gathered herself and summoned her best Ressurection ever, despite being tired from the battle.

And nothing happened...

"Oh no!" screamed Sylphiel. "S-she's sealed somehow, magic bounces off her. Quick, get help from the city!"

"Already here!" called Amelia as she and a large contingent of soldiers and mages, lead by Phil and his two daughters arrived on scene, running all out. They had decided to risk it when Luna screamed and poured out from the city. But the mazoku were gone before they got there. In short order many mages, and groups of mages tried to heal Luna, but the result was the same. No magic would work on her, no magic at all.

"Is it Ceiphied, or was it Zellas?" someone asked.

"Get her in to a temple of healing, we can find out better in the city." ordered Phil as he himself helped set up a stretcher to bear Luna away.

Lina turned away to follow but she noticed a group of soldiers standing around someone else. And Milgasa was kneeling before...

Her...

"Oh no, oh no, oh no..." was all Lina could say as she came up. It was Ayn. Or what was left of her. Filia had totally removed the back of her skull and brained her in a fell swoop. She had died instantly, painlessly. But that would be of no comfort right now.

"Leave her, I will do it." said Milgasa, as the others went to lift her. There was no denying the absolute agony on his face.

"I'm so sorry..." said Lina quietly, as she collapsed into tears. Gourry lifted her and gently bore her away.

A few minutes later Milgasa silently did the same for Ayn. 


	34. Chapter 36

lina got over her tears quickly, after all, there were things she needed to do. she could take the luxury of wailing into gourry's broad chest later. for a moment she almost lept down and started walking, but, actually, it felt nice to be carried in strong arms that held her secure and loved her...

so, she stopped blubbering, but let gourry carry her into the city as she took the time to compose herself and to think about what just happened. they ran after filia in the hot sun, they fought the dark lords, and the dark lords won. hmmm, they fought the dark lords and the dark lords won, but not by much. good, that meant that their group was strong enough to make a difference. of course, they were in a bind now and would need to regroup. perhaps amelia could join them? or naga...

naga, sheesh, had it come to that? and she was amelia's sister? the missing gracia? that set lina's head spinning for a bit as she thought that one over. no way! but, way...

now that she saw them together she didn't need amelia's, or phil's, words to confirm the family resemblence that was easy to see just by looking at them. lina shook her head, why hadn't she seen it before?

but what had happened to naga's cockiness? she seemed, well, not broken, perhaps, but certainly cowed, somehow...

oh, there was too much happening too fast. and what did sis' injury mean? would luna no longer be the knight of ceiphied? but what would that mean? lina started as she came to a shocking realisation.

"hmmm?" asked goury as they reached the gates and she had him let her down. lina looked up at him, obviously perplexed. "mommy was right, i've never seen luna for who she really is, i just got it now. all my life i've been in awe, and afraid, of my sister, luna the knight of ceiphied. but i just realised something, i've never ever tried to see her as just luna, without attaching the "knight of ceiphied" to it. gods, i even went in to magic because i wanted to try and impress her, because i was feeling inadequate because she was special and i wasn't, just a plain little girl with nothing to speak of..."

she found herself hushed by gourry putting a hand over her mouth. but before she could bite him and ask what he was up to he said, gently "i'm sorry, ma'am, but i can't let you bad mouth my wife like that. lina's the most wonderful woman in the world." he let her go and smiled at her.

lina seemed a bit confused and certainly embarassed and flustered. "gourry... what...?" she managed to get out.

someone who was walking nearby giggled. "actually, "ma'am", the proper response is a full on kiss and to hell with what the public thinks..." she said.

lina took a deep breath, sheesh, did everyone have to get in on it? she glanced around, just what she was afraid of, a sea of smirking, expectant faces. well it was either kick his sorry ass into next week, or...

"you're right..." she conceeded, and grabbed gourry, pulled him over and planted a big one on his lips in full view of the crowd, which promptly cheered.

lina took advantage of the noise to whisper, unheard by all except gourry, of how he was so going to pay for this later...

they wandered on and went to the temple that luna had been taken to. lina's sister was still passed out but was begining to stir. lina was instantly concerned again. the mages were still unable to breach the barrier so luna's wound was being bandaged tightly to try and create pressure to control the bleeding, hopefully without cutting off the circulation. but it seemed that the healers were so used to magic that they were a little rusty when it came to basic, non magical care.

suddenly lemmy shoved them aside and snapped "if you are too used to magic to know what to do then let someone who had to learn to heal without the help of arcane powers do it right." so saying she pulled the bangages off and angrily demanded different ones. lina gasped at the sight of luna's arm, without it's beautiful right hand. it was a raw and ugly stump, red, bleeding, bits of muscle and even bone visible. lemmy snarled something about not cleaning it properly and demanded water and clean cloths. they were brough quickly, along with the bandages, and lemmy proved to be a very tallented nurse as she cleaned the wound and put a proper pressure bandage on it.

"i'm no doctor, so i don't know what healing herbs you might put on this, nor give her to drink. i do recommend you try and find something for pain though, if your magic bounces off of her she's going to be in the proverbial world of hurt when she comes around." the swords woman said as she worked.

"laudanum, it's our best bet." said sylphiel. the doctors nodded and orders were sent to fetch the painkilling gum made from poppy juice, and some strong brandy to mix it in. "i hope she can drink it" someone said.

luna suddenly gasped, then gave a scream and sat up, rather violently, in the bed. "ahhh! oh help, no!!! it hurts." she screamed before collapsing again.

"hurry up with that damned drink!" cried a desperate lemmy, beating lina to it by a fraction. luna was crying and what sounded like "mommy!" escaped her lips. the "daddy!" was more distinct, and there was no mistaking at all the plaintive "lina!" that followed. in a flash lina pushed through and caugh luna in her arms, holding her sister while she screamed again, and cried, clearly caught up in the agony of her wound. "i, she, she didn't want to kill me, oh help, she ruined me..." luna wept.

lina held her sister and said "luna, listen, beastmaster sealed you against magic somehow. they can't heal you or stop the pain magically, so they are having to use non magical ways. they are bringing medicine to help ease the pain, please, please be brave and drink it."

luna nodded and cried some more. the cup finally arrived, and with lina's help lemmy got it into the injured girl. it went to work quickly and soon luna dozed off.

"she won't sleep long, but the edge should be off the pain when she awakens." said sylphiel. "when do we tell her what's happened?"

"i'll do it when she's free enough of pain to stand the shock." said lina. the sooner sis knew about the outcome of the fight, especially about ayn, the better, but it would be a blow to her, no matter what.

later came in about half an hour when luna's eyes flickered open again. "oh gods it hurts..."she said softly.

"miss luna, is it still unbearable?" asked a concerned sylphiel as she reached for the bottle with the drugged drink. one of the doctors stopped her. "don't over do this, lady sylphiel." he said. "it can be dangerous too."

"i - i can bear it for now..." murmured luna. she looked to lina with bleary, drugged eyes, lifted her head from the pillow, and asked "how'd we do?"

"it was a disaster." lina said quietly. "we are here because they quit fighting after... after..."

"after?" asked luna, also quietly.

"i-i'm so sorry sis. "lina gulped. "you got hurt, and, and..."

luna sank into the pillow, tears trickling from her eyes. "no, go away, no. she's the only one whe hasn't come to see me...". luna rolled onto her side facing the wall and wept. "ayn..." she cried softly.

"i - i - i'm sorry, big sister, it was her laser blast that saved you, but she turned her back on filia. then beastmaster fell from the blast, dynast and dolphin snatched her away, xellos took filia..." lina tried to explain.

luna was silent for a minute then she rolled over and tried to sit up.

"no, lady luna, you musn't" said sylphiel trying to restrain her. luna gave a strange scream and sylphiel suddenly found herself on the floor, and not too delicately either.

"a spirit shout..." cringed lina, knowing far too well what sylphiel had just gone through.

"i... have to see her... before... before..." luna said, as she forced herself up, very wobbly.

"sis! you'll fall and knock yourself out!" said lina as she held luna from rising.

"m-milgasa, he'll cremate her by sundown, it's their way." sobbed luna, groggily. "i need to see her, see her funeral, then i'll be good, i promise. please lina, just help me with this."

lina looked around, uncertain of what to do, but sylphiel came to her rescue. "of course you can see it, but you must let us help you get to it or you'll do a worse injury to yourself, lady. just let us help you is all we want." she said, dizzily, trying to sooth luna.

and it worked. luna nodded and stopped trying to get up. messengers were sent, some to get a sedan chair, others to ask milgasa to wait for luna. soon all was ready and luna was carried to the place where phil had let a large pyre be erected by the blond dragon lord.

lying on it was the body of ayn. she was still in her avatar form, it sometimes happened that they didn't change if death was fast enough. she was lying there in her battle armour, her flail on her chest much like a knight might have his sword laid upon his. milgasa had cleaned up her face, and laid her out to look almost as if she was just sleeping.  
on a bed of firewood...

luna arrived, and this time there was no holding her from getting up. she staggered forward to the body and fell weeping on to ayn's breast. after a minute she kissed ayn's cold lips then in a broken voice she spoke one last time to her friend. "i-i'm sorry, i'm sorry, oh ayn, i'm so sorry, it should have been me. she wasn't going to kill me, she wanted me to suffer, but you couldn't know that. oh ayn. i should be the dead one. i'm just the damned knight, i'm not the one who matters."

lina stared at luna, dumbfounded at that one.

luna went on "you, you put in many years of good service to your holy order, to me, and to many of my predecesors. you should have been allowed your reward, your happiness, your eggs, everything you desired. you would have been a wonderful mommy. oh ayn, it should have been me. please, forgive me, because i can't forgive myself..." she said, then broke down completely.

"i - is it the drugs?" whispered lina to sylphiel.

the white mage shook her head and replied "they probably have loosened her tongue, lina, but what she says comes from her heart. does she have a secret grief?"

"i have long suspected so." replied lina. "but she has never told me."

luna was gently lifted away from ayn and set back a safe distance. the crowd waited. then, high in the sky, a golden dragon was seen rapidly approaching. "milgasa." said lina, recognising their companion's dragon form. the dragon swept down and landed before the pyre. he didn't hesitate, but took a deep breath in, and then released a scorching hot breath of fire directly on the pyre. there was an instant burst of flame, almost like an explosion, and the wood went up almost like a volcanoe. luna cried in a loud voice "go home, lady ayn. be at peace." then collapsed into her chair and was carried away. milgasa finished spouting his flame, then leapt into the air again and rose to the heavens by riding the thermal current coming from the inferno. he rose up until he could no longer be seen.

lina became aware of her own tears and wiped them away as best she could. "got something in my eye." she muttered.

"sorrow, perhaps?" askd sylphiel, who let her own tears flow freely.

"something like that." replied lina as she turned away from the flames.

"there they are." said zel as he and gourry stepped throught the crowd and came up to their wives, whom they quickly embraced.

"where were you?" asked lina.

"we left you girls to help luna, and went to help build the pyre." gourry explained.

they walked back in silence to the palace.

supper was picked at, drink was taken more than food, and there was silence more than talk. the time had not come to talk things through yet, it was still the season of quiet contemplation. those who had people to snuggle with did so.

lemmy, still feeling the sting, and shame, of her own defeat, plus the pain of the loss in general, sought solitude in a small garden that she had found, a quiet little place out of the way of the main part of the palace. she wasn't sure if it was a private garden or not, but the gate was open and no sign forbade entry, so she went in. there was a bench at one end set up to allow contemplation of the main features of the garden, two strong young cherry trees, one obviously older and more grown than the other, and a fountain set between them, with a weeping angel in the center of it. lemmy was intrigued by this and went to have a closer look. it was a beautiful angel and a beautiful statue, and in a strange way it was soothing, but it spoke of mourning. "i wonder why this garden is so sad?" she asked aloud.

there was, unexpectedly, an answer.

"because it is a memorial garden, miss." rumbled a voice that could only come from one person.

lemmy gave a gasp and spun around, then sank to her knees. "your majesty, i meant no disrespect. i am sorry, i came here for peace, but i didn't mean to disturb..."

"and you didn't." replied prince phil with a soft smile. "nor is this garden off limits to those who respect it. but come, miss, um, lemmy, isn't it? join me here on the bench and i'll explain."

lemmy nodded and sat beside the crowned prince of seirune.

phil smiled softly again as he looked at the scene. "this was originally meant to be a garden of celebration." he explained. "the cherry trees were planted at the birth of each of my daughters. that is why they are at different stages of growth. the fountain was set up to provide water for them, and the birds and other creatures my wife loved so much."

he sighed and paused a minute. "then came the tragic day she was cut down from among us. i had her body laid up in state according to the custom of seirune, but i had her heart removed and cremated and set in the urn that is the angel statue. i then placed it in the midst of the waters so she could be near her daughters who she loved more than life. i have also made provisions that when i die i too shall have my heart removed and cremated, and the ashes will be mixed in that urn with hers."

lemmy allowed a tear and said "that is so wonderfully bittersweet, your majesty, thank you for telling me."

"just call me phil while we are here, please, miss lemmy." said the prince.

"gladly..., phil." she replied.

for awhile they just sat there. then phil began to talk to her again and slowly the tale of lemmy's own sad life came out. phil was attentive and lemmy probably said more than she had realised. "you also have a bittersweet life it seems." said phil. "no mother, your father killed for his magic, your brother missing, and by now you must presume him dead. alas. does the ability to slay for justice provide any balm to your sorrows?"

"sometimes." replied lemmy, wiping at a tear. "but i miss having a friend, someone to help me, even guide me on my way. your daughter, the princess amelia, taught me to respect justice and to slay for it, but i have slowly come to learn there is so much i still don't know about, and i think maybe i haven't been doing it the right way even yet."

phil smiled. "why don't you take a break from your roaming to and fro over the earth and from going up and down within it for a time, miss lemmy? stay here in seirune as our guest? i'm sure with more time that amelia will be able to fill in all the gaps. what do you think?"

it was a simple request, but lemmy seemed overwhelmed. "m-may i, really?" she asked, looking uncertain.

"it would be our honour." replied phil.

lemmy smiled shyly at phil. "i, i would like that..." she said. then, suddenly, she threw her arms around phil and gave him a big hug. "yes! i really would like that! thank you, phil." she said, more enthusiastically.

phil gave a tiny squeek of surprise, then chuckled and hugged back. "amelia will be happy." he said.

they both took a long time to break away from the hug...

and it didn't go unnoticed either. two pairs of cerulian blue eyes had been right behind phil, originally making for the same garden to have a little chat. but they saw phil in there with lemmy, and stayed in the shadows, watching out of curiosity. now, at the hug,they silently slunk away and got out of earshot, so they could talk...

"amazing!!!" said a breathless amelia to gracia. "i've never seen daddy get so close to a girl, never! he, he, he, wow..."

gracia nodded. "i don't think either of them has realised it yet, but i think miss lemmy has gotten past his defences somehow."

"you think so too?" asked amelia.

"well, there is something rather mommyish about her." said gracia, thoughtfully.

amelia nodded. "mommy wasn't so irresponsible, but she had that same free spirit. and like mommy, i think miss lemmy needs an anchor in her life so she can control herself better and achieve new heights. hmmm..."

gracia nodded. "and miss lemmy looks a bit like mommy too..."

"and daddy just invited her to stay and learn about justice from us and she accepted, right away. even more amazing." said amelia.

"so, we agree then?" asked gracia with a smirk.

amelia nodded and said, with a wicked giggle "right, she stays, we scope her out, if you'll pardon the slang, and if she's as good as she seems we'll just have to see if seirune doesn't end up with a new queen after all!"

gracia giggled back. "and best of all, she might have a son and free us and the kingdom from worrying about the salique law, plus free the two of us from worrying about having to get married to someone the state approves of so he can be king."

amelia nodded and held up her pinky. "deal?"

gracia interlocked hers with amelia's and said "deal! when two sisters of the family seirune work together, what can be impossible?"

"nothing at all!" replied amelia.

they had a long chuckle and went off to find another quiet place to talk. 


	35. Chapter 37

night came and everyone went off to bed. luna had behaved herself after the furneral as she had promised, and was left sleeping in a private room. zel and sylphiel drifted away and only lina was left, with gourry. they spent a time holding each other, glad that they had survived yet another wild adventure, and finally they decided to get off to sleep too.

but lina was restless. as they walked along she suddenly said to gourry "i'm sorry, i won't be able to sleep until i check on luna once more time. you go warm up the bed, jellyfish, i'll be there soon. and who knows, maybe i'll still need help getting to sleep?" she added with a little smile.

"ah, so this is when i have to pay for the kiss earlier..." said gourry sounding something like a condemned man for whom the jailer had come for the last time.

"yeah!that too, thanks for reminding me." smirked lina as she went off to see luna.

gourry sighed...

lina knocked quietly on the door. there was no answer. well, if luna was asleep...

but something didn't feel right, in fact, now she was here, it felt terribly wrong, somehow...

she opened the door and stepped in. then gave a gasp!

luna wasn't tucked in asleep in bed.

she was cowering in the corner of the room, crying, and looking as if she was trying to ward off a blow or something.

"oh no, luna! the drugs, they've upset you..." cried lina as she ran to her sister. she tried to gather luna into a hug but the older girl pushed her gently away.

luna looked into lina's eyes with her own bleary, fear filled ones and shook her head. "no, lina, nothing like that at all..." she whipsered, sounding almost terrified.

"pain then? grief? please tell me, i'll help you." said lina.

luna gulped, and looked at lina for a time, then said "if you want to help me lina, then kill me, now, before i become any weaker, before i fall into unrecoverable shame..."

lina was stunned. "k-kill you? shame? i don't understand, luna. how can i do that to my own sister. and why?" she said, sounding almost paniced.

luna looked long at lina, then slowly looked down. she sighed, despite her fear. "yes." she said quietly. "you should know."

there was silence then luna looked back up at lina. "lina, i, i love you, i have loved you since you were half an hour old and they let me hold you for the first time. i looked into your big round eyes, brown then, not red like now, and i fell totally in love with you, my beloved little sis.."

lina took luna into her arms. "i love you too sis, i always have..."

"but another emotion also awoke in me at the same time, lina." said luna, cutting lina off. "another feeling, just as strong."

"huh?" said lina, puzzled, looking at luna.

suddenly, luna gave her a mighty shove and sent lina sprawling. as she did so she hissed like a venemous serpent and practically spat at lina "i also hate you! i hate you lina, i hate you with all my being just as much as i love you!!!"

lina now sat up and scuttled away from luna a bit. "h-hey? big sister? wh-why? what did i do luna? i'll do anything to make it up to you, please, tell me what you want?"

luna turned away and wept for a minute then turned back, pure agony on her face. "do?" she wailed. "do? you did nothing lina, except get born. it's me, don't you get it? i'm the freak, not you. you are normal. normal lina, normal. that's why i hate your guts, i'm jealous of you...". luna collapsed, crying in agony, but agony of the spirit, not pain from her hand.

lina needed a minute to process. normal? jealous? what the hell?

she scooted over and grabbed luna into a big hug. her sister tried to push her away but this time lina held on and said "not this time. we are family, you and i, and i'm not leaving you. i love you, luna, i don't understand what's happening yet, but i'm your sister and i'm here for you, even if you don't want me to be."

luna struggled a bit, then gave up and softly wept on lina's breast. "i-i've tried for years to make it go away, but, i can't lina, i just can't. because i can't change me, and that's the problem."

lina asked "what can i do that you can't do better, sis? i'm such a nobody compared to you..."

"compared to me? you know nothing lina. nothing!" shouted luna. "i always get that, always. "oh luna inverse the knight of ceiphied, must be wonderful for you, walks with god and all that. such an honour to have her as defender of the kingdom, such ablessing she's your dutiful daughter..." well fuck it, fuck it all to hell, lina, there's nothing wonderful about it. yeah, big impressive swordsmanship powers, iron will that can dominate others, well big deal! it's all shit. shit! i'm just a freak for all that, lina, a freak! like i'm on a show or something."

luna turned away and gave a cry. she turned back to lina and spoke some more. lina realised that the dam had finally broken and luna was telling someone why she was unhappy, what her secret greif was, probably for the first time in her life. every word vibrated with the agony of the soul. lina gulped. she hadn't known, she just hadn't known...

luna went on "lina, i never wanted this, never. i have ceiphied within me, from birth, but i'm not him. i'm luna inverse, and i have all the feelings of a normal human girl. oh lina, oh lina, it's horrible. the knight, through all the ages, the knight is never allowed to love, lina. that's the thing, don't you see? i can love you and mommy and daddy, but no others. you've often wondered why i've never had a boyfriend, i know you have, that's why. no love, no marriage, no babies, no life. and i can't even have a woman's love to make up for it. no love at all. because it could distract me from my duties. well, guess what? luna inverse was born a woman, and born a woman who wanted to be a mother and to be a homemaker. i want, as the highest need of my life, to be a wife and a mommy. i don't want to be a sword swinger or a mage, hell, i don't even want to be a shop keeper or a waitress, i just want to be domestic. my biggest dream is to have my children around me, in my arms, even in my belly, as i keep a wonderful home for the man i love more than life. prety lame huh? but it's my dream for all that. and i'm not allowed. but, you can do this, and now you are. oh gods, little sister, please, please forgive me, i am worthless, i am nothing, because i can't help feeling jealous of your good fortune. i am happy for you because of gourry, and i am crushed for myself because i never can..."

she wasn't able to go on for a while. lina did her best to sooth luna. "i'm glad you told me , big sister, i know now why you cry..."

"i don't cry for that!" interupted luna with a rough snarl. "fool, i haven't told you anything yet, just set the background."

lina gulped and fell silent.

"i should have told you this much years ago lina, but i never knew how. i don't want to hate you, i just can't stop it." she paused, and looked up into lina's eyes and said "but now, it has come..."

lina gulped and said "it?"

luna nodded. "my hour of testing, my hour of failure. i'm not even a good knight, after all, it seems. xellos, he was here just before you came, with a message from zellas."

lina silently nodded, horror struck. that damned mazoku priest. he was long over due for death if he hurt luna. zellas was already on the hit list.

"she said she knew of my inner grief, my conflict, my need. she knew of my pain about ayn, about my hand, about ceiphied. and she had an offer."

"offer?" gulped lina.

luna went on, her voice an intense whisper. "she had sealed me against being healed for just this purpose. she is keeping my hand alive, she can do that for a time, and she will give it back to me if i want it. she also has claimed that she can take out the piece of ceiphied within me and fill me with her own power to make me just as strong as i am now, only, it will be to serve her, not ceiphied. in exchange, i may marry whom-so-ever i want, and have all the babies i care to make. she would even let me take the pledge if i'm good, and make the same offer to those of my children who are worthy of it. all this, and more, if i serve her faithfully."

lina gasped in horror. "how awful..."she gasped. "isn't it enough that she has hurt you? must she mock you as well? no wonder you cry..."

"again you interupt lina, you know nothing!" hissed luna. "but i will tell you now. this is why i cry, and this is why you must kill me lina, tonight, now. i, i came within a hairs breadth... of saying yes!" she said, shouting the last word.

lina was taken aback, and her sister carried on into her silence. "i did what i could and managed to ask for time to think it over. i have until sunrise, then he'll want my answer. but i knew, even as i spoke, that i want what he's offering, lina. when he comes back i won't be able to say anything except... yes..."

" oh gods lina!" she shouted again. "help me, don't let me become... hers... because, i will." with that, luna collapsed into a ball, her head on lina's lap, and wept and wept.

lina was in shock for a long, long time. her sister now made perfect sense to her, and scared the hell out of her at the same time.

what to do? she thought hard as luna wept.

finally, her sister's tears slowed and lina was able to sit her up and look into eyes that were now redder than her own. "luna, listen. for your sake, for mine, for mommy and daddy's, pull yourself together. you are weak, in shock, in grief, in pain, and drugged up, of course you have no strength. i understand that, but you must too. this is no time to die, this is the time to be braver than you ever have been before, and draw on every last ounce of inner power you can find, be it yours, or lord ceiphied's. "

"but i will fall..." started luna, sounding angry.

"enough!" shouted lina, silencing her sister. "you will listen now, you have had your say. i agree, if it comes to that, i will kill you myself, rather than let the mazoku take you. but in exchange you must agree to two things. one, i, not you, will chose when, or if, you die. two, you will not give up, but you will do all you can to stop it. you will screw your courage to the sticking point and resolve to say "no" to xellos when he returns. got it? otherwise, surrender to him and be damned."

luna looked up in awe at lina. "y-you finally stood up to me..." she finally whispered.

lina hugged her big sister into a great hug. "luna, maybe you can't love a man and have babies, and that's terrible, but you have overlooked something you know. if you are allowed to love me, then you are allowed to love my babies. i can't fix it so you can be a mommy, but you can still be the best auntie the world has ever seen."

"c-can i?" asked luna softly. "after all i've done to you, and after what i just said, you'd let me?"

"yes, i understand now what's been your secret pain, big sister." replied lina. "i love you even more, now that you have told me, i get it, i understand. you should have told me from the begining. but i know now. oh luna, if i had to chose between my magic and my family, especially gourry, i'd give up magic in a flash. but if i had no choice i'd fall apart inside too. i do understand. and you are right, you have always been far more domestic than me, it has to hurt a lot worse for you. but now i can understand luna, and sometimes, maybe i can help. please, please let me help you. i have always admired you, forthe wrong reason to be sure, because i too worshiped the knight, but now, i see my error. forgive me luna and let me worship you, my big sister."

"h-how can you forgive me?" whispered luna.

"because i fell in love with you, about half an hour after i was born, when you held me..." smiled lina.

luna sat up, looked lina in the eye and then took her in a big, big hug. "lina, thank you. i now know i can face anything if you are with me. i'll get over this and get my strength back. i will cast out my hatred once and for all, and i will be the sister i always should have been. and i accept your offer to be the best auntie there ever was. i've been such a fool. lina, but you have saved me, i can feel it. thank you." she said.

"yup, that's lina, just plain wonderful" said gourry.

"ack!" shouted lina. "g-gourry? how long have you been here?" she asked.

"oh, i had this overwhelming sense that i needed to follow you after you started to walk away, so i did." he explained. " i quickly realised this was a sister, sister thing so i just stayed out in the hall, out of sight, but nearby in case something happened, while you two worked things out."

"well, you might as well get in here now." sighed lina.

luna was slowly coaxed back into bed, and lina lay down beside her to help her settle to sleep.

"i'm so tired." she yawned, after luna had drifted off.

"i'll stand first watch." said gourry quietly.

"wake me up, don't take the whole thing, like a yoghurt brained jellyfish or something." yawned lina, before she drifted off too.

gourry did wake her up then dozed off on the floor, refusing to sleep beside luna. lina shook her head. as if anything would happen. what's more, as usual, he let her sleep longer than he should have. what a jellyfish.

she was so grateful that he was her jellyfish, though.

lina sat down and thought about all that had just happened. one day, one battle, and the world changed...

by the time dawn came she had figured out all that she could. there was a lot that was unknown still, but she now knew that the mazoku were up to something big, under cover of the dragon war. but how to find out what it was? she was getting tired of puzzles.

a bird started singing somewhere and lina realised with a start it was dawn. she sprang up, and woke gourry. "quick, quick, he'll be here any moment." she said, rousing him. she woke luna and had gourry help her sit her sister up in the bed. they gave her some pain medicine and settled her as best they could.

now to wait. lina was nervous. what to do if luna caved at the last anyway? kill her? how could she? what would she ever say to mommy and daddy? but how could she not? let luna go to beastmaster? even worse...

she didn't have long to wait, there was a sparkle and xellos was just, well, there...

"good morning, lady luna. ah, you have some witnesses i see." he said with his perpetually irritating smile on his face. "well, are you ready to come be healed? or will you prove the fool after all?"

luna sighed. then gulped. she was clearly struggling. lina wanted to help, to blast xellos, anything, but this was the critical point. luna had to be free to make her answer before lina could do anything.

finally luna spoke. her voice was strained. "i admit your mistress' offer tempts me greatly, xellos, even now, but alas, i have come to realise that in the end, the things i want and need the most are things that overwhelmingly make me human. if i take her offer, i will lose my humanity, and all that she might give me, all that i might have, would be a hollow mockery of what should be, and they would become a fire that would burn in my soul as hot as any flames in hell. i am not like filia, i do not desire to lose myself. i will accept my limitations, and remain luna."

"i'll take that as a "no" then." he said. "ah well, the mistress figured you were too weak to join us, but she wanted to show you mercy, and let you have a chance to redeem yourself. well, i am to let you live this time, but we must be enemies after all, it seems, luna. alas."

another sparkle, and he was gone.

"alas..." said luna very quietly.

lina gulped. "sis, i am happy you chose to stay with us, please, have no regrets. it was a tough decision, i know, but you did make the right choice, even if you don't see it right now." she said.

luna gave a sad smile. "i just gave up my one and only chance at being a mommy, that's all. lina, you better remember your promise, and have lots of babies." she said.

"promise?" asked gourry.

"the one about being an aunt." explained lina.

"ah, i remember." said gourry.

at that point the nurse arrived to see about starting the morning for luna, and was surprised to find lina and gourry in the room. "really now." she huffed. "family visitation is alright, but i hope you let the poor dear get her sleep, she seems exhausted."

luna smiled. "no they were horrible, the bounced on the bed all night and never let me get a wink of sleep."

"what? hey, just a minute, big sister!" exclaimed lina.

"someone's better!" beamed sylphiel, as she too walked into the room.

"yeah, i guess i am." smiled luna. she turned to lina and said "thank you, sis, from the bottom of my heart" lina smiled back.

"well, why don't you two go get freshened up. we are all summoned to a breakfast meeting where in the newly returned gracia will tell us something of utmost importance." smiled sylphiel.

"oh gods, what is it?" sighed lina.

"i really don't know, lina, sorry" was the reply.

"it was rehtorical..." sighed the petite mage as she lead gourry out of the room. "see you at breakfast then, luna. love you!" she called as she left.

"hate you too, lina." was the reply.

lina shook her head, then proceeded to get ready for the morning.

breakfast was fairly big. not only were all the usuals there, but so were several of the members of seirune's high council. phil came in and sat down, signalling for the eating to begin. the meeting would come after, to lina's delight. she was sure she could handle naga just a little bit better on a full stomach. pardon, gracia, she could handle gracia better...

she did notice that lemmy seemed a bit dreamy and distracted, sitting there beside amelia. what was that about? oh well...

zel and sylphiel sat across the table from luna, gourry, and lina. the conversation was kept light, they could get into ayn or other heavier subjects later, right now they wanted to remain calm. gracia's news was supposed to be big.

and, finally, after much consumption of food by the hungry ones, they got around to it.

phil called for attention and got it. he made a few introductory remarks, and a mere half hour later he gave the floor over to gracia.

"thank you daddy" said the tall girl, as she rose, trying to focus, and not yawn. amelia on the other hand was beaming and congratulated her daddy on a wonderful speech.

"ladies and gentlemen, i will try to be brief and to the point." she said, starting her talk. lina cocked an eyebrow, no remarks about "plain girls"? this must be serious then...

"as you know, i was returned to daddy and the kingdom under some rather humiliating circumstances, having been caught in beastmaster's treasure vaults. you need to know that even i am not that stupid as to go to wolfpack island and try to steal from her, that was a ruse to avoid giving my real mission away. i was spying. i won't go into details about who i was working for, but they had heard a report that needed confirming. i have been able to confirm it, to my horror. the dragons war has caused the guard on the kaatart mountains to totally fail. as a result,the mazoku have been able to remove a large block of ice totally unobserved, and it now rests in the waters off wolfpack island. those waters are cold on the side of the island away from land and this is where they put the ice. apparently they want it to melt slowly. this has saved us so far."

"the kaatart mountains?" asked someone. "you don't mean..."

"yes, i do. " said gracia, fear in her voice. that caught lina's attention, naga was basically afraid of nothing, what was this? but the kaatart mountains? wait, oh no!

"they have removed the chunk that has the body of the great mage lei magnus in it. the one that froze himself when he found that shabradnigdo was inside of him, and was trying to resurect. apparently they didn't know exactly where the body was, so they took a block of ice big enough to include all possible locations. and now it is melting. you know what will happen next."

gracia paused. "they will melt his body free and finish the resurection of ruby eyed shabradnigdo. they are taking a chance to try and cause trouble, or even destroy the world! may the gods help us all." she said, clearly afraid. with that, she sat down.

there was a stunned silence in the room. "shabradnigdo? now what do we do?" asked someone. 


	36. Chapter 38

In the end the decision was reached that there was no good in sending a large army to storm Wolfpack Island or a large navy to attack the iceblock. The only people who stood any chance were the Slayers.

"I know we failed last time, but we had a lot less information, and were after the wrong target." explained Lina. "This time we have a better idea of what we need to do, so we can at least plan more realistically."

"And this time the Slayers will be at full force, perhaps for the first time ever! Gracia and I are joining you, whether daddy likes it or not." announced Amelia.

"Hey???" said Gracia and Phil, together.

She glared at Gracia and said "Yes you are. This is serious."

"Hmph!" retorted Gracia. "I am well aware of that..."

"Then do it." commanded Amelia in a voice unusually firm, even for her.

Gracia gave a "Eep!!!" and backed down.

Lina picked up her jaw...

Amelia looked at her father and said, much more gently, "If we fail there will be no stopping them, daddy, you know that, and you do too Gracia. We have to send the best force we possibly can, so there can be no saying "No" this time." She was unusually firm when she said this, and even her father had to give way.

"I would willingly join you in this adventure, but I know already I have to stay behind and prepare our last defence. But it will be grevious if neither of you return." said Phil.

Amelia gulped and nodded. "I understand, daddy, I really do, but, life goes on, and maybe there will be another chance. For some reason she glanced at Lemmy, who, after needing a minute to register gave a startled "Hey?" of her own.

Lina blinked several times and looked over to Zel, who was doing the same. Oh well, bizzare or not, it was not their affair...

Wait, was that the right word to use here???

"Er, yes, well, we will be thankful to have you all." said Lina, getting them back on track. "Now, we need to plan, I suppose, so I suggest the Slayers, how the hell did we get that name anyway? Oh well, later, now we need to go to a private place and do that and Phil you start on the worst case scenrio defence. And see if you can get ahold of those damned dragons somehow and tell them what's happening. It might help if they could try to negotiate a truce at least until the Sharadnigdo menace is dealt with, though I doubt they will listen..."

A short time later they were alone in a secluded sunny spot. Lina shook her head as she looked them over, then, suddenly...

Out of nowhere a "Lina Inverse Bunny Slipper Super Special Attack!" slapped Gracia upside the head, causing her to reel and fall down. This was followed by the sharp command "Speak! And don't leave anything out, got it?" The worst part was the evil grin of pure pleasure that came over Lina's face...

"Miss Lina!" shouted Amelia as she rushed over to her sister. "I mean... Lina..."

"What was that for?" pouted Gracia as she rubbed her cheek. "I haven't done anything, yet."

"All that time we traveled together, and you never once let on who you were. You call that nothing?"

"No, I call that none of your business." said Gracia standing back up. She got her old Naga the Superior look on her face and pointed at Lina and said "Nothing is what I call your flat chest." she boomed, bouncing her own impressive rack...

Lina couldn't help it. Old habits die hard. She went green and red and got all flustered. "They aren't flat!" she shouted.

On the sidelines Sylphiel gave Zel a sharp poke to get him out of his stunned trance. "Really, Zel, honey, I can do that too, anytime you want, just, in private, okay? Sheesh."

"Oh, okay..." said Zel, in a slightly slurred way as he shook his head to clear his mind...

Lemmy was worse. "Oooh, do guys really like that?" she asked Amelia, dreamily.

"Some do." the Princess replied. "You'll have to try it around the guy you have in mind, sometime, and find out." she added in a conspiratorial tone.

Lemmy nodded. Then shook her head. "N-no, have to do the mission first..." she sighed.

Lina restrained herself from attacking Gracia. If she was still in "Naga" mode the next thing she would do is start laughing, and Lina so desperately wanted to avoid that...

She looked over and caught part of the exchange between Amelia and Lemmy, and had both a concern and an idea. "Lemmy. Listen. We need all the help we can get, but if we are going to take Phil's daughters on this mission there won't be anyone special to protect him. I mean his guards are great and all that, but in all truth they don't hold a candle to you, Amelia or Gracia, as much as I hate to admit to the latter part of that sentence. I feel bad even asking you this, and you can say no, but would you consider being his special body guard for us? I mean, if all goes well, you'll be forced to serve by just standing and waiting, but if all goes wrong we will be dead and you'll be his best chance."

Lemmy looked suspicious, then thoughtful. "I don't want to abandon my friends, but your words have merit, Lina. Only, are you sure you have to take both his daughters?" she asked.

Lina nodded. "I'm sorry, but we do. See, magic will be more help here than anything else. Gourry with his magic Blast Blade and Zel with his Astral Vine ability will be better for our sword needs than a straight blade I'm afraid."

Lemmy looked hurt. "I - I suppose..." she said quietly.

Lina sighed. "Lemmy, I'm only asking, if you want to come that's okay too, I'm just trying to make sure we've covered all the bases as best we can. I don't mean this personally, please don't take it that way.

Lemmy gave a sad smile. "I know Lina, and I'm torn. I really do want to help you, your mission is Just and your cause is saving the world, they don't get more noble, but, Phillionel also needs to be protected. But without a magic blade will I really be any better defending him than his own troops?" she asked.

Lina blinked, despite herself. Phillionel??? Hoo boy...

Luna finally spoke up. "Stay or go, it's up to you, but I can help with the blade. Like you, I carry a collection of blades around, though I can hide them magically so people don't usually know. I have one that will be perfect for you, Miss Lemmy." With that she struggled to use her still clumbsy left hand to pull a ring filled with what looked like little sword charms from her belt.

"Please, let me help, Lady Luna." said Milgasa, as he stepped up beside her.

There was a general gasp, no one had seen him return, or felt him join them.

He smiled. "I mourn our mutual loss, but the mission remains undone and I don't abandon my commrades." he said quietly.

He took the ring from Luna and flipped through the sword charms. "Clever how this magic ring lets you reduce them to a small size. Now let me guess, Miss Lemmy has no magical ability that she's developed to the point that she could use what could be called an "ordinary" magical sword, so she needs a sword that is magical in it's own right but only needs a skilled user. This one." he said, taking a charm off the ring.

Luna smiled a warm, grateful smile. "Thank you for returning, My Lord..." she said. Then she took the charm and said "Yes, the very one." She muttered something that released the sword from the ring's charm and and suddenly the sword grew into a full fledged broadsword. She turned to Lemmy.

"A bit heavy for some women, but you should have no problem with a bit of practice to get used to the balance. This is yours, Miss Lemmy. She is a gift from the Knight of Ceiphied to a worthy companion. Keep her, make her a heirloom of your family, pass her on to someone deserving, just don't sell her, or give her away to an unworthy person. The charm is in her blade, you need only use her as a regular sword." she said as she handed the sword over to Lemmy.

Lemmy took it reverentially, almost as if a god were handing her a gift. "She, yes, this blade a she. She is beautiful. She is well made and strong, I can see that." She fell to her knees and bowed before Luna. "I promise on my honour and my life to be worthy of this gift." Then she looked up and asked "I cannot read the runes, what is her name?"

Luna smiled. "In our tongue, her name means "Without Measure", meaning that she is without equal or limit. She has been part of the collection of the Knights of Ceiphied for so long that she has faded into a legend, but, she is no legend. And a dangerous time such as this is the perfect time for her to reappear from the mists and live in the memories of men again. She is the "Blade Unbreakable", her runes name her... Excaliber..."

"Wow.." said Gourry, quietly.

"Amen to that..." added Zel.

Lemmy was so overwhelmed she wept in gratitude. Finally she blurted out a sincere "Th-thank you, Lady Luna, thank you..." When she could, she stood up. Then she reached down and gently patted her Katana. "Sorry Jack, you're now my number two sword. Please don't take it personally." Then she smiled and said "Thank You." to the sword, as if Jack had approved...

Lina just shook her head. Fetishists...

"But now, do I do better to join you with her, or do I do better to stay behind?" mused Lemmy.

"Look deep into your heart, Miss Lemmy, and you will find the answer." said Milgasa.

Lemmy closed her eyes and pondered deeply whle the others waited in silence. Lemmy had the right to make up her mind undisturbed, and her decision would determine their plans. They waited.

Finally she opened her eyes and spoke. "Though it is filled with concern for all of you, my heart bids me stay with His Majesty."

"Then that is the right choice, Miss Lemmy, trust me." said Sylphiel with a smile. Lemmy smiled back and nodded.

"Well then, let us decide what to do." said Lina as she got them back on track. "You!" she said, pointing her finger in Gracia's face "Tell us your story."

"Oh I don't know, plain commoners should say please, don't you think?" she smirked.

Lina got an evil grin, one fang even showed as she held up her hand and a fireball formed. "If you insist, how about I say "Pretty Please, with a Fireball on top?""

"Well, it all started as I was walking in the forest down by the sea in one or the other of those costal sates, name eludes me..." Gracia began, acting as if she didn't even see Lina, but nevertheless getting on with it in a very timely fashion. "I was approached by an elf who asked me if I could help them. He was related to that, oh what was his name, that elf child we helped so many years ago now, Sparrow?"

"Lark." corrected Lina, extinguishing the fireball.

"Oh yes. Lark. Well, after we helped him I got to go to their village and become an elf friend. That's good, because it means you can get help from the elves when you need it. Of course the downside is that they seem to think it works both ways.." Gracia went on.

"Oh, big sister..." sighed Amelia.

Gracia continued "So anyway I went with him and met some elders who had an important mission that only I was qualified to handle. Me. Not some insignificant rival."

"Do you know what this insignificant rival says to that?" snarrled Lina.

"Little sister." commanded Luna. Lina jumped and crouched back. "Sh - she says it's a good thing you were there..." she cringed...

Gracia cocked her eye at Luna. "Ah, the secret power of the big sister!" she smiled warmly.

Luna smiled back, the first time in a long time. "Yes, isn't it wonderful?" she nodded.

"No! No! Don't go becoming friends!!!" cried Lina.

Amelia cringed and said "Okay, but can we please hear the rest of the story first, before you two start abusing Lina and me? Please?"

Gracia sighed. "Well, okay, but only because it's you, dear sister. So, naturally I asked what the mission was, and all the important details, such as payment, reimbursement of expenses, danger bonuses, and all that. I must warn you all, elves drive a hard bargain. I'm sure I "got took" by them, for one thing, they haven't paid me since I got back..."

"Have you reported to them yet?" asked Amelia, with a sad shake of her head. Gracia wasn't that much changed from when she went away, alas...

"Er, well, no, I haven't had the time, yet, but they could have paid in advance you know."

"The mission was???" shouted Lina, getting more irritated as the useless conversation went on.

"Lina! Don't be rude." pouted Gracia. She did go on though. "The fact is there are three elven spies on the island, sacrifical volunteers who let themselves become slaves to Beastmaster. Somehow she has never seen through them, and though they do not report very often they have given the elves timely warning of big plots the dark Lady has tried to pull off from time to time. The poor girls, they have been brutalised and broken, only their elven minds let them hide their mission still, no human could have taken what they've been through. Well, the thing is they sent the message that the Mazoku had brought a block of ice back from the Kaatart Mountains, and didn't know what to make of it. So the elves needed a spy to confirm and determine what was happening and offered me the job. After much negotiation, they came up with an offer I could tollerate, and I went."

She sighed. "Sneaking on to the island was alright, but while I was there, poking around, something horrible happened. Someone came and kidnapped the blonde dragon girl Filia and then the whole place was in an uproar. I tell you now, there is no more horrible a sound than a mazoku being tortured to death for not keeping a proper guard over his mistress' island. After that, even the screams of my dying mother have become less terrible. I wish I could erase the memory, of both sets of screams, but they are seared into my being. But naturally, I was now trapped and couldn't get free."

"Wait, Jilas and Gavos said nothing about a block of ice?" said Lina.

"It's only visible from the far side, you'd have to go all the way around to see it." replied Gracia.

"And it wasn't there when we were." stated Zel, looking as Sylphiel, who nodded in confirmation. She shivered as she nodded yes.

"You sure you two weren't just distracted?" smiled Lina.

"Oh no, Lina, we would have seen it when we watched the sky for the green flash." replied Sylphiel with a soft smile.

"Right. That's why you wear those emerald rings." said Lina, remembering the tale they told. She looked to Gracia. "So, go on."

"Well, may I?" asked Gracia, sarcastically. She went on. "I was trapped, and there was a total search of the whole island going on. I couldn't get away, so I had to think of a plan to hide my real reason for being there, and hope I could survive long enough to get away. It was touch and go, but in the end I found my way to her treasury and started filling my cape with gold. Of course, it wasn't long before they caught me. I know it's not very Princess like, but I confess that I was ready to foul myself with fear when they roughly hauled me before... before... her..."

Here Gracia's courage seemed to fail her and it took some time before she went on with the story. "I, she, she looked so angry and evil. I was sure I'd be lucky if she just skinned me alive. She demanded to know what I was doing and I replied that I was stealing her treasure. She looked confused at that, as if she was expecting me to be doing something else. Then she gave me an indescribable look and asked, quietly, if I knew where someone called Filia was. I didn't know at the time what had happened, so, I could sincerely say that I did not. She frowned again and had me put in a dungeon until she decided what to do with me. I was trapped there for several days with no light, no air, no food, and no water, except for a damp little trickling spring that fell along the wall of the cell. I confess, I drank from it, three days without water and you don't care for much but your thirst any more. As for the bathroom, that was just a corner of the cell. No bed, just a damp dirty, greasy stone floor. It was silent most of the time, but for the one time they brought that mazoku guard in to kill, then you couldn't help but hear too much, and scream until you were hoarse, though no one heard you, or cared, if they did..."

Gracia gulped and was silent again. "Finally, they brought me out again to face her. She grilled me about everything, and I tried to be strong. I was able to hide the mission from her, I think she was in too big a hurry or still worried about Miss Filia to give me her full attention. Naturally, I had been searched and all the gold I had stuffed into my cape paid off as it really did look like I was an arrogantly stupid thief who had come to rob her. As if. I'm greedy and weak when it comes to gold, and I've had some close calls, but deliberately rob the Beastmaster? No, even I am not that stupid. But I was lucky, for she finally laughed at me. She said she had finally remembered my name and my reputation for being a crackpot and she decided I probably was stupid enough to be guided by my greed and try to steal her gold. Then she told me my real name which frightened me no end. I feard she'd use me against daddy somehow, and I was right about that, alas. But I should have guessed she would know who I was, and I shouldn't have been so surprised..."

Here Gracia just stopped, fear on her face. "I - I can't go on..." she said, shaking...

"Why not?" asked Lina, both concerned and suspicious.

"B-because that's when she - she broke my will..." sobbed the tall woman, holding her hands out as if to ward off a blow.

"Gracia! Did she, did she, torture you?" cried a wide eyed and frightened Amelia, as she placed both her fists to her mouth in wide eyed horror.

"Oh... worse than you can imagine..." said Gracia with a frightened cry of her own.

"Would the Bunny Slipper help?" offered Lina...

"Lina!" snapped Amelia ans she protectively clutched Gracia to her.

"S-sorry, just trying to help... replied Lina.

"Gracie, tell us. Getting it out is the first step of healing." coaxed Amelia, gently.

Gracia stayed on her knees and wept for a time. Whatever it was it must have been terrible. Amelia did her best to comfort her sister and sooth her.

Lina sighed.

Finally Gracia gave a soft moan. "I - it was my, my, my... my laugh..." she whispered.

Amelia looked peplexed. Lina rolled her eyes and groaned. "What about it?" she asked with poor tollerance.

Gracia sniveled as she told the rest of the story. "Sh- she asked me if I was afraid. Of course I was, but I couldn't let her know that, so I said something or other about how, how Naga the Serpent knew no fear. Then, to prove it, I - I did my laugh, my bold, beautiful, perfect laugh, the most perfect laugh I have ever laughed in my life, full of all my pride, all my natural superiority..."

"All your boasting, all your vanity..." interupted Lina.

"Lina..." said Luna. The redhead shut up.

"D-did she hit you?" asked Amelia of her sister.

"I-if only..."moaned Gracia. "N - no, she just smirked at me until, for the first time in my life, my laugh faltered and went out. And then, and then..."

Gracia froze back into silence.

"And then?" Amelia prodded, gently.

"And then... she laughed." cried Gracia. "She laughed! IT! My laugh, she laughed it right back at me, only, only, oh by the powers and all the gods! NO! No! she, she was..."

It took Gracia all she had to get it out. She shook in terror, in mortification, in crushing defeat. "She was easily a hundred times better than I was..."

There was stunned silence, except for the weeping of Gracia.

"O...kay..." said Lina finally.

Amelia looked stunned, then turned to Lina and...

In a swift move she grabbed the slipper that Lina was still holding and, without even announcing the attack, slapped Gracia into another spin so that she crashed, Naga like, on the top of her head, her legs spread out and waving in the air...

"Amelia?" asked a shocked Zel, as the others just stared.

"Your laugh? That thing I used to lie in mortal terror of because it was the worst thing I ever heard?" she shouted at her sister. "You've been a sniveling wreck, with no more backbone because she outdid you? Gods above and below! Gracia? What have you unleashed upon us? If she comes here and laughes like that there will be no fight! Oh, I can't believe this." There were tears in her eyes, but whether of fear, or rage, was unknown...

She went to slap Gracia again but Lina grabbed her hand."Nah, not too many of those or you'll slap some sense into her, and she might, you know, start to practice, or something..." she warned.

Amelia handed the slipper back, stamped her foot, and pointed her finger,complete with trademark frowny face on it, straight at Gracia. "Now listen, you!" she shouted...

She then proceeded to give Gracia a dressing down that was at least ten minutes long, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, except that it seemed full of the love she and her father had for bombastic speeches. The speech did serve the purpose of reminding the listeners that Naga's laugh maybe wasn't the worst terror to come out of the House of Seirune...

"Z-Zel? Does she ever, you know, stop to breath when she does this?" saigh a frightened Sylphiel at one point.

"Not that I've ever been able to observe." sighed Zel.

Finally, the Justice Princess' spleen seemed to be vented and with an imperious "So There!" Amelia triumphantly crossed her arms over her chest and ended her tirade. Most of the observers had the distinct impression that this had been building up inside since the day her big sister had run away from home, and were rather relieved it hadn't actually turned into an now Gracia was a limp rag on the floor, crushed under the weight of all the ranting.

"Please..." she moaned, very softly. "I'll be good, so very, very good, just don't let her go on anymore..."

Amelia pouted. "Big Sister?"

"Just love her, she'll be fine now." smiled Luna.

Lina gave Luna a strange look. "W-will that work for you too?" she asked.

Luna just stood there.

Then Lina realised she was softly crying, and summoned her courage, and hugged her sister.

"Yes it will..." said Luna, softly, through her tears, as she gratefully hugged Lina back.

After awhile the meeting got back to order. There was much discussion, but in the end it was realised they had no real choice but to go back to the Island. Once there Lina was to use the Ragna Blade, if she could, or, most frighteningly, the Giga Slave, if she had to. The others would have the task of neutralising the other mazoku long enough to let her. Then came the hard part. What would Luna's roll be?

There was much hesitation until Luna herself lead the way and announced she was basically useless and should stay behind and try to learn to use her sword left handed, hoping to at least make a good show at the battle of Seirune if it ever came to that. Lemmy promised to train her every day so that she would be good enough to lead them to victory.

Then Sylphiel spoke. "No wait. Miss Luna, come with us. We won't make the trip in one day and we can see if Anesha can help. It's worth a try, she brought me back from the edge of death, maybe she can break the sealing spell of Beastmaster and heal your hand."

"You mean the healer with a daughter who thinks she's me?" asked Lina cocking an eye...

" 'Fraid so..." smiled Zel.

Lina gave an evil chuckle. "Well, I suppose, but that poor kid's about to find out a terrible truth. When it comes to being Lina Inverse, there can be only one!"

"Thank the Gods!" drifted in from somewhere....

"Right! Who said that!" shouted Lina, glowing red... 


	37. Chapter 39

The journey had been long,and slow. Milgasa had carried them on his back part of the way, but they were quite a load, and they knew it, so the magic users had taken turns flying at times. This had helped, but the humans could not fly as fast as a dragon, so the journey had been slowed because of that too. The only two who couldn't fly were, of course, Gourry and Luna, so they stayed on Milgasa's back for the full ride. There was some small talk, partly about swords, partly about life, and even a bit about Lina, now that they were in laws and all, but Luna spent most of the trip staring out into space, thinking deep, private thoughts, or, given the way she kept cradling the stump of her wrist, maybe it was the pain. Gourry either talked with the others, or slept.

At the afternoon of the third day they were directed down by Zel and Sylphiel towards a small village near the coast. They did a lazy pass over the place, and drew a lot of attention. Well, a Golden Dragon in his real form, accompanied by five flying magic users wasn't something you saw every day. Four flying magic users maybe, but not five...

After a quick spin to get their bearings they located the house they were looking for, and, ignoring the crowd that was rapidly running to meet them, they touched down outside of the house of Gary and Anesha. Oh, and Shantal. Judging by the fresh charring on the nearby trees the girl had been practicing...

Zel and Sylphiel knocked on the door, and a minute or two later Gary, dish rag in hand, poked his head out, looking startled. "Well, the newly weds. Let me guess, come back for your first councilling session? Marriage is wonderful but it's also harder than it looks...

A flying petite redhead burst past them from in the house, a dishtowel flying in her hand. "Oh wow! Is that a real Dragon? Mine! He's Mine! I claim him..."

A deep sigh announced the arrival of Anesha, dish cloth in her hand as well. "Well, ya gonna be anti social all day? Invite them in, twit." she glared at her husband, who smirked back "I was getting there..."

"First of all, hello, and secondly it's..." began Sylphiel. Her remarks were cut off by a scream. They whirled around to find Shantal and Lina apparently going eye to eye.  
"Already?" sighed Sylphiel. "Was there any doubt?" replied Zel.

"Wait, is that..." began Anesha, looking at Lina...

"I claimed him! He's my Dragon." insisted Shantal. "Who do you think you are to say no to me?"

Lina frowned back "I think I'm ..."

Naga interupted, bouncing imperiously into the fray. Shatal caught one look at her "bounciness" and immediately backed off, looking rather blue."What is that?" she gasped.

"Naga the Serpent is a real person, not a thing, impetuous child. But more importantly, what have we here? A living book end to match this flat chested plain girl who wishes she was my rival? I don't believe my eyes, does lightning strike twice after all?"

"Big Sister!" snapped Amelia, but Lina had the last word. "Of course it does." she said turning to Naga. "Like this. Mono Volt! Mono Volt!" The acrid smell of ozone mixed with the sizzling and shrieking of Naga as she bounced around under the blue arc of the double cast spell. "Owie, owie, owie!" she cried as she came to a stand still as a crumpled heap on the ground. Head down, you know the rest...

At least she wasn't wearing her mother's costume anymore, Daddy had seen to that, but what she did have on wasn't a heck of a lot better...

"LINA INVERSE, THAT WAS NOT NICE!" She howled at the top of her lungs.

"Serves you right, now shut up about it" said Amelia, looking like she had a headache coming on.

In the excitement Milgasa took on his human form and now came up to Lina with Luna and Gourry beside him.

They looked at Shantal who was just staring back at Lina. Finally she croaked out "You, you're..."

"Lina Inverse! The World's Most Beautiful Sorcerry Genius!" Yes, that's me!" Lina crowed in triumph, flashing a "V" for victory sign (well, maybe it was "V" for vengance?)

"Flat chested, Bandit Killer..." added Naga with sarcastic revenge.

"Mono Volt." replied Lina sending the taller girl bouncing all over the place again.

"Serves you right." sighed Amelia.

"You mentioned that already..." humphed Naga, as she painfully got up from the ground...

"You left out Dragon Spooker." added Luna with a mild smirk. "Poor Lord Milgasa, he's been ever so brave to put up with her all this time..."

"B-big sister..." cringed Lina. "N-not in front of the upstart, please..."

"Who's an upstart?" snarled Shantal.

At this point, her friend from before arrived, along with the rest of the crowd from the village. "Shantal! What's going on, oh by the GODS! Is this, is this... her???"

"Oh, Hya Linni-kins, yup, this is her. Didn't recognise her at first, she would prat on so about being a Sorcery Genius or something."

Lina growled dangerously. "You left out Beautiful..."

"Well, if you had just introduced yourself properly the first time as the "Enemy of All Who Live" I'd have gotten it right off." replied Shantal hotly. "Hmph, I mean,why d'ya think you've really been my hero all this time..." she added.

"What? Your hero?" said a slightly startled Lina. Oops, musn't lose the fan base...

"Hey Linni! Now you can answer the question we always had!" enthused Shantal, brightening suddenly.

"W-we did?" asked a perplexed Linni-kins. This was clearly news to her.

"Yeah!" smiled Shantal. "Which one of us is flatter, me or her? Her, right?" she asked, sticking her chest out.

Linni backed off as fast as she could as several sweatdrops rolled down her face. "Oh, nonononono! I have to work at the inn tonight, and we never had that question, you maybe, Shantal, but not me..."

"W.h.a.t...d.i.d...y.o.u...s.a.y...?" Lina asked very slowly, and very, very dangerously...

Luna stepped in and spoke to Linni-Kins. "You work at an Inn too, do you?" she smiled. "Are you a waitress?" she asked, putting her good arm around the young girl's shoulder and leading her out of the danger zone. The rest followed, Naga being dragged by Amelia who had somewhat of a deathgrip on her right ear...

"I.t.'s...o.b.v.i.o.u.s...I.'m...l.e.s.s...f.l.a.t...t.h.a.n...y.o.u...!" was Shantal's response, as she glared back at Lina.

"Uh, yeah, I'm a part time waitress when I'm not helping mom and dad at the grocery store. Uh, I'm, uh, well, heck everyone just calls me Linni, 'cause it's the short form, and yeah, pleased to meet you, Miss, um..." said Linni-kins with a smile to Luna.  
Luna smiled back. "My mom and dad run a grocery store too." she said as they approached the house. "And I am also a part time waitress in Zephilia where we live. My name is Luna and I have the dubious distinction of being Lina's older sister. I think we are going to be good friends, Miss Linni."

"Get in, get in, the house has fire proof spells around it." warned an anxious Anesha as she waved everyone inside. "The poor trees..." muttered Gary, sadly...

There were times when you stopped Shantal, and times when you picked up the pieces afterwards...

Soon everyone, villagers included, was inside and the tea was being brewed. And just in time too.

Lina had given a howl of rage and began to glow red. Shantal had followed suit

"We'll see about that!" shouted Lina. "FIREBALL!!!"

Alas, Shantal had realised Lina was about to toss some sort of a spell her way and also had charged up her own spheroid of flames. She cast it at the same instant Lina threw hers...

The resulting explosion actually left a crater in the ground and hurled the two combatants several feet in uncontrolled flight. They both managed to cast a Raywing and get under control before they actually crashed, but it was a near thing.

"Gyah! Don't you know better than to cast two fireballs at the same time ya dumb kid!" shouted Lina as she touched down again.

"I threw mine first, old lady!" responded Shantal, as she also reached the ground.

"And do you know what this Old Lady says to that?" shrieked Lina. "Flare Arrow!" she cried launching a firey shaft at the rival. Being magical it quickly divided into several arrows of fire.

"Bomb Di Wind!" responded Shantal, letting loose a veritable punch of air that scattered the fire darts, sending them careening all over the place to start lots of little fires when they landed"

"Bloody hell..." said Lina to herself. " She does know a trick or two..." Despite herself, she smirked. The kid might actually be good. But, of course, you didn't hear that from her...

She reached down deep and called up not one but two spells. "Fireball, Mono Volt!" she commanded releasing the two spells in rapid succession.

Shantal screamed and dropped flat. The two spells sped over her and smacked against the shielding spells of the house.

"Oops..." said an embarassed Lina.

"MY HOUSE!" yelled Shantal in horror. It was one thing if she burned it up, of course, and quite another thing for some miserable stranger to do it, after all...

She jumped up and glared at Lina. "Dug Haut!" she commanded, slamming her hand onto the ground.

Lina merely countered that one by levitating and observing that Shantal's spell was weak, the spikes leaping from the ground were small and very rounded.

"Ha, not gonna skewer too may people with those things." she chortled unkindly.

Shantal frowned and unleashed a spell of her own making. "Sky Rockets in Flight!"

Lina yelped as she immediately found herself surrounded by a noise, mostly harmless, but very distracting display of bright fireworks like explosions, star bursts, roman candles, and even a rather impressive pinwheel.

"Grrr." she growled, snuffing a sizzling fragment out as it tried to light her sleeve. She turned a frowning face to her opponent, only to realise the kid was loosing her own Flare Arrow.

Damn, they hurt, the youngster had been more successful distracting her with the fire works than she had realised. Well, time to get serious...

She didn't want to kill the kid, so "Digger Bolt" tempting as it was, was out. But what could she use? She rotated to the right fast to avoid another fireball. "Damn, the girl child is fast, good thing her aim is off..." she thought to herself.

Lina decided to buy some time and took advantage of the fact she was air born. She started circling rapidly and doing some aerobatics just to keep Shantal's aim off. And it worked too. There were howls of frustration as the girl found herself unable to track Lina and lob a spell at her. She made a couple of attempts to use more fireworks but Lina was able to just fly out of those.

Lina had her own worries though. She knew she could just pop off some almighty spell and end the fight, but this was one fight where obliteratin her opponent was so not an option. But she had the major problem of not knowing what this Shantal person really could do. She had a feeling the girl was still in the "Gee Wizz!" phase of magic and had laid up an impressinve supply of half ready attack spells, but would likely not have much at hand in the way of defence. So, she had to stick to the basics and keep it simple. Right, she couldn't blast her way out of this big time, so she'd need to use precision...

How boring...

Lina readied a fireball and did a few more loops and twists. Suddenly she dove down and released the fireball at the last second. Shantal gave a scream as the fireball burst on the ground beside her, though whether it was pain or rage, Lina wasn't sure. But Shantal's next spell let Lina know that Shantal had at least taken it personally...

And that Lina had better take her very seriously...

Shantal chanted something, Lina wasn't sure what but from the look on the girls face it was going to be big. Lina shot up into the air. She had a bad feeling about this...

Shantal glared at her and cast. "Burst Flare!"

"The hell?" screamed Lina, kicking it into overdrive and climbing as fast as she could. The spell followed her up as high as it could, hung a second or two then exploded into tongues of blue fire. Lina was fortunatlely out of range, and the explosion happened in the air so nothing was hurt, but Lina was mad now. And a bit frightened, that was a fatal spell! She zoomed down.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" she shouted at her opponent. "You trying ta kill me kid? I've been going easy up till now, but you just asked for a world of hurt."

"Ah, you don't scare me that easily, old lady." retorted a rather mouthy Shantal.

"You better look to your protection spells then." warned Lina. She zoomed around once more, then landed on the ground several feet away from Shantal. She looked at her opponent. "All this over a dragon that isn't yours to have? What's really going on here?" she demanded.

Meanwhile, in the house, most of the crowd were jostling for space at the window. One man said "Wowee! Now that's a fight! First rate entertain... uh, sorry Anesha, I was just being analytical..."

"Analyse this!" Anesha snapped, as she also snapped a headlock on the man...

Back on the field Shantal explained "What's going on? HA! I'm a powerful mage in my own right, I deserve to have my very own dragon, and my parents don't take me seriously. No one does! Once they see me riding my dragon after I defeat you they will have to." she snarled, locking eyes with Lina in a staring contest. Naturally, she couldn't stare down Lina Inverse, but Lina's eyes were starting to water before she younger girl blinked...

"That's a golden dragon, kid." said Lina a bit more softly. "His name is Milgasa, and no one owns him but himself. Even if you could, beating me won't get you anywhere with him."

Heck, maybe this upstart would listen to reason?

"Doesn't matter." replied a defiant Shantal. "He sees me defeat you and he's gonna know I'm a force to be reconned with!"

Lina took that as a "No..."

After some more staring the combatants made ready to go at it again. Shantal opened with another fireball. This time Lina dug into her repertoir of lesser used spells and came up with a classic "White Serpent" defence. "Freeze Bullet!" she cast. The fireball sizzled and went out as the counter spell slammed into it. Lina was hot under the collar though, she just knew Naga was going to say something...

And sure enough, in the house... "Well, looks like she learned something in her travels with me after all..." the taller of the two sisters Seirune smirked.

"Big Sister! Enough!" commanded Amelia as she gave a wary glance at Miss Luna. Fortunately the Knight was giggling with Linni-kins over some sort of restaurant joke about a waitress named Flo and her dashing diner, and didn't appear to hear Naga's rather rude comment.

Still, she was an Inverse, and if Lina was anything to judge by...

"Oh! Shantal doesn't give up does she?" said someone and all attention went back outside.

Not to be out done Shantal had just summoned a lesser demon...

"YOU STUPID IDIOT!" screamed Lina. "You can't control that thing!" She hurriedly chucked a medium intensity fireball at the furry hellspawn and blasted it back to the astral plain.

"COULD TOO AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT, IDIOT?" replied Shantal just as angrily. With a determined look she summoned another one.

"Fine! Prove it." snarled Lina as she levitated again and backed off. Hell, these things were easy enough to summon, but controlling them was hard even for a master mage. No way this kid was gonna..."

"Lina Inverse is your target, slave. Attack!" commanded Shantal in an imperious tone. The monster blinked, looked confused, then turned and advanced on Shantal with a snarl. Lina laughed, but made ready with an Elemicia Lance...

Shantal snarled too and leaped up high. "Demon Tamer Punch!" she shouted and smacked the beast upside the head.

Anesha glowed with pride and Gary enthused "She's getting the hang of it!" Amelia's jaw dropped then she turned to Naga and said "Daddy has to see that!" Her sister blanched and gulped. "Isn't he scary enough already?" she moaned quietly.

The Lesser demon howled in surprise, then, as Shantal's fist cocked back for round two it spun around...

AND HEADED STRAIGHT FOR LINA!!!

"What the hell???" gasped a startled Sorcery Genius, forgetting until the last second possible to cast the Lance. The creature dissappeared, but Lina got spattered. Messy...

Far worse, Shantal hadn't wasted her time. As the monster exploded a swarm of Flare Arrows came through and caught Lina dead on. Luckily Lina had a defensive spell or two she kept permanently "on" but this rank amature was getting too reckless. She had to be stopped, now. Lina frowned with determination.

Shantal taunted her."Told you I had bigger boobs! Comes with greater magic ability you know."

Now that was just dirty. Lina glared, the anger in her building.

Shantal didn't let up. "Come on. You are supposed to be so great, you are supposed to be all powerful, a destroyer of demons even. Is this all ya got, old lady?" she taunted. "Ha! I just thought of a new rhyme for you. Enough with the "Little Girl, Flat Chest, Spooked a Dragon from its nest" routine. Let's try something like "Lina Inverse, weak and saggy, now she's just a flat old lady!"

This was topped off with an evil giggle...

Anesha heard that and gasped in horror that Shantal would be so mouthy. This was bad, even for her. "I'll get the soap." offered Gary. "Make it two bars, that's one dirty mouth we gotta clean." his wife replied.

"Oh NO! Pink Swirls!" gasped Amelia.

"Dragon Slave!" shouted Gourry, Zel, Sylphiel, and Naga, all at the same time.

Milgasa, who had been sitting by quietly got up looking a bit scared.

"Let me out! Let me out, I have to stop..." shouted Luna as she jostled her way to the door.

Too late. Lina, forgetting herself, gave Shantal a strange, dangerous smile and said "More power, eh? Try this..."

She cocked her hand back and commanded "Instant Dragon Slave!" then tossed the instantly generated, but somewhat weaker version of her dreaded signature spell at Shantal.

Weak being a relative term, of course, it was still a Dragon Slave after all...

A hugh pink explosion dug up ground rocks, trees, and even moved the magically protected house several yards off of it's foundation with a BIG BANG!

"CERN!" said someone in the house when it stopped rocking.

"Language!" warned Anesha...

As the pinkish mushroom cloud dissipated and people could see again the first thing that was evident was that there was now a hugh crater where the lawn and the garden used to be.

And Lina was floating there, looking triumphantly at Shantal, who was lying on the ground at the edge of the pit.

The crowed gasped, then the Junior petite mage lept up and started crying "Foul! Foul!! Lina Inverse cheats!!!"

That was as far as she got before her mother's patented DX headlock brought her back to reality."Not the soap. Not the soap..." she gasped in horror, real tears coming to her eyes.

Lina laughed in triumph, until she became aware of...

"L-L-Luna..." she gasped, turning several shades of pale and collapsing to the ground in fright at the feet of her clearly angry sister.

"Of all the stupid and irresponsible things you have ever done Lina Inverse, this stunt takes the cake." snarled the elder Inverse sister, apparently forgetting Lina's recent change of name.

"I have tried to be nice to you and show both mercy and restraint for all these years, but this is just too much." she went on, sounding like the Knight of Cephied. "Really, I just yelled at you for giving me pneumonia when you tried to cure me with "Recovery". I teased you on purpose about that "Lina the Pink" dress you were so proud of so you'd take it off before people saw it and really did get the wrong impression. I apologised profusely for the slug incident. I dealt with you privately over "Deadwater Bay", and I even showed you mercy when you begged so much at the Shadow Projection punishment. What's more I even forgave you for that and though I may have teased you one last time, I gave up that hair brush and all it's symbolic attachments to you at your wedding! And now this!"

There was something about the way she spat out "this" that caused the trembling Lina to start turning into multicoloured jelly...

"You risked the life of a child for acting like a big brat, just like you did at the same age, and do now, for that matter. You destroyed the property of these people and blew their house off the foundation. You even endangered the lives of everyone in the immediate area!" she shouted.

"Yep sounds like Lina..."said Zel, helpfully as they stood around watching Lina squirm...

"That does it Lina. So help me you are going to get it now. This time, I'm really going to do IT!" Luna bellowed at her sister. Gourry frowned and moved into a defencive position between the two sisters. "Leave her alone Luna, you promised..."

Luna laughed evily. "I'm going to do it, Gourry, and there is nothing you can do to stop me..."

"Nonononononono! Please Luna, no, don't do it..." sobbed a pitiful and repentant sounding Lina as she fell on her face before her sister. Gourry looked worried and frowned up at Luna.

Luna glared at her sister. "This is long over due Lina. This time you're getting it. This time..."

Lina bega to panic...

"I'M TELLING MOM!!!" shouted Luna.

Gourry looked confused, then got knocked flat on his face as the shockwave from Lina's scream of terror hit him like a moving wall of air.

Which it was, of course.

Being a shockwave and all...

As they stood there watching Lina run around Luna asked, in a puzzled voice, "So, is this another "JUst do it. sis" moment?

"Far worse, actually." said Zel in a matter of fact voice as he watched the temple complex of four pyramids in a square with a central cathedral rise from the ground.

"Yes, definitely." added Amelia. "She settled for a single pyramid complete with ornate sarcophagus" that time."

"Oh. Is she turning the crater into an ampitheater?" asked Gourry as Lina tackled the hole in the ground.

"Looks like it, does she expect funerary games or something?" asked a puzzled Sylphiel.

Anesha came up, wiping some of the soap off of her hands...

"And what am I supposed to do with a major temple complex complete with battle arena?" she sighed.

"Actually, Ms. Anesha, we'd like to talk with you about this." said a man, obviously a merchant from the village, as he and some others joined the gang that was watching Lina's paniced building efforts.

Anesha sighed. "I'm listening..."

"Well," the man said, "the world doesn't need just another battle arena, there are ampetheaters and coliseums enough in this world for those who swing swords, but, and here's the brilliant part that I thought of, there are not very many places for magic users to engage, and none that are set up for the public to come and watch."

"Point, please." sighed Anesha.

"Well, my colleagues and I feel that if you will lease this complex to us, we can set up a rather lucrative business by slapping a dome of protection spells over the top of this battle arena and letting mages do battle inside it. It would be a Magical Battle Arena!" the man enthused.

"Hmmm..." said Anesha, thinking about it.

"A lease is fine but don't forget the temple tax on the gate reciepts, this is holy ground after all" smiled Gary, who had been standing there silently all the time.

There was a mild groan from the merchants.

"And the concessions!" enthused Anesha with a grin.

A loud groan...

"Well, we need some too." replied one of the merchants. "Three concessions for you, that should be enough, surely."

"Seven!" countered the priestess.

The men looked distressed.

Gary stepped in. "Lets cut to the chase, 5 concessions, and 10 percent of the gate, a standard tithe."

The merchants breathed more easily.

Anesha grinned grimly. "Oh, and Shantal, she gets a piece of this too."

"Wh-what piece?" asked one of the merchants warily.

"She gets to clean up afterwards." Anesha said with a cackling laugh. Gary chortled too. Shantal wasn't there, but one could only guess how she would react to that one...

"Done, but we get to name it, for marketing purposes." said the merchant who had been doing most of the talking. Heck, he recognised a good deal when he heard it. Anesha was obviously in a generous mood today.

"Let's hear the name first." said Anesha.

The merchants conferred. "Battle Arena is just a description, how does Magical Battle Arena sound?"

"Kind of lame..." said another one.

While they discussed it, Lina set the last capstone on the last pyramid, and, looking paler than pale, slunk off to have a good cry. Gourry joined her. By now Luna and the others were trying to use levitation to raise the house back on the foundation...

A merchant said "Well, look. Let's be realistic, one of the things that made this so exciting was the fact it was two girls going at it. Hey, sex sells. Now I'm not advocating a smutty title or dancing girls, but something feminine should be worked in to it. like "Girl's Arena" maybe?"

"Girls battle area?" suggested one.

"Girls Battle Arena." corrected another.

"Nice but lacking something." said a third.

They hummed and hawwed. Anesha sighed. "Come on, go to the obvious, ya twits. "Magical Girl Battle Arena" works, get a clue."

The merchants brightened up and agreed. With that the deal was struck and everything was set up to go to the lawyers in the morning... 


	38. Chapter 40

"I'm very, very, sorry." said Anesha the next day, as she finished examining Luna's stump. "The simple fact is that whatever spell Beastmaster has sealed your wound with will only respond to her counter command. Alas. Ressurection or even the Golden Ressurection would heal that wound easily, but for the seal. As long as it is on I can do nothing." She gave a sad sigh. "If I had perfected Golden Resurection it would be able to overcome a mazoku spell, but it isn't there yet. I suppose we could research finding the counter spell..."

"No time." said a sad Luna softly. "Every day melts more ice from Shabradnigdo. We have little time left, I fear. If we aren't away by tommorrow morning I suspect we might just as well surrender ourselves, and tell Prince Phil to have his wedding clothes prepared..."

Amelia and Naga shuddered while Anesha looked puzzled. They explained...

"Well, that's enough to make you gag, isn't it?" she said afterwards. Then she said "You can make it to Wolfpack Island from here with a short flight. I reccomend you rest up and prepare yourselves, then, leave whenever you feel you must. I'll do anything I can to help, but I can't think off hand of anything that would be usefull, sorry..."

The rest nodded and for a time they just drifted off being silent.

During the morning Shantal sought Lina out, and apologised for fighting with her. Lina, after getting the girl to admit it was all her fault, forgave her. With that they actually began to talk, and a friendship was started. It did get a little strained when Shantal somehow brought up the breast question with Gourry, but after Gourry said he wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole things seemed to settle down.

Then he pointed at Lina and said, in perfect sincerity "Those, on the other hand, I'd get my hands all over..."

SMACK!

"Not in front of the child Gourry! Sheesh!" yelped a blushing Lina, bopping his head.

"But Lina , when you were that age..."

"Not..." SMACK! "...in front..." SMACK! "...of the child..." SMACK! "...Gourry..." SMACK "...you..." SMACK! "...Yoghurt Brained..." SMACK! "...JELLYFISH!" SMACK!repeated a now brilliant ruby red Lina...

"Oooooo! That looks like fun, can I try one?" begged a thoroughly impressed Shantal.

"Eh? Oh, I suppose so, but only one, ya gotta watch you don't over do it." replied Lina as she stood out of the way. Heck, the kid had to learn sometime...

"Huh? Oi, Lina..." Gourry started to say...

SMACK!!!

"Wow! Now I see what mom gets out of it when she has a go at dad! Men ARE good for something after all! Maybe I ought to get myself one?" asked a thoroughly impressed Shantal.

"Sure!" smiled Lina. Then she looked puzzled. "Wait, what were you planning... no wait, don't answer that..." she added, getting first puzzled then alarmed.

"Huh?" said Shantal.

Lina quickly changed the topic and they went on to have a rather good chat as they watched Gourry's lumps slowly go down...

Lunch was a bit strained. Luna was deep in thought and didn't say much. Afterwards, she took Lina aside to have a talk. Lina cringed, she was sure Luna was going to have at her some more for yesterday's to do, but then Luna spoke.

"Sis, is our only hope the Giga Slave?" she asked, sounding worried.

Lina allowed herself perhaps one full second of relief, then concentrated on the question. "Off hand I would say so. The only two spells I have from the Lord of Nightmares are the Giga Slave, and the Raguna Blade. The latter is controllable, but the former is much stronger. But I can only hold the Blade for a couple of minutes before I get too weak and it fails, and I collapse, exhausted."

Luna thought for a bit. "Could the Blade last longer if a stronger will controlled it?"

Lina, also in thought, replied "I'm not sure, stronger will power would make the Blade more intense, but I think the time the Blade lasts is determined by the physical strength of the weilder. But why, what are you thinking about?"

Luna asked "Can the Raguna Blade be handed off to another user once it is cast?"

"I suspect that it could have been melded with the Sword of Light, if Gourry still had that, but I don't know if it can just be handed over like a physical sword. But Gourry's never used a pure magical blade, I don't know how he'd do with it." replied Lina.

"Not Gourry, me." said Luna. "I can't cast it, but I could possibly wield it better than you, sis, it's what being the Knight of Ceiphied is all about, after all."

"You? Uh, yeah, maybe, but, have you healed enough? And you aren't left handed..."

Luna smiled. "I'm as healed as I will get, Lina, and you are right, I don't know how well I can use it as a new southpaw. But what other choice have we? Do you think you can control the Giga Slave in the heat of an all out three Mazoku Lords against us fight?"

"I'm not sure, I can try, but no guarantees." her sister replied, looking worried. "That's why I sealed it. But I can undo it if I have to, for this crisis."

Luna nodded. "We must think about it. I think we had better talk with the others about this. Do you agree?"

Lina nodded. "We need some sort of plan, and everyone better know about it." she replied.

Soon they had the gang assembled for the conference. Shantal, Gary, and Anesha also joined them. It was quickly established that Shantal was NOT going with them, though Milgasa did have to promise her a flight on his back (in dragon form of course) before she totally relented. It was almost as quickly established that the family would leave for Seirune as soon as possible, in order to give any last words and instructions to Prince Phil.

"First question of the day, do we use the Giga Slave?" said Luna. "What our attack will be will determine our strategy."

There was silence as the others pondered.

Zel spoke first. "I am against the Giga Slave." he said quietly. "It is not that I don't trust Lina to do her very, very best, but I have my doubts that we call hold off Dynast, Dolphin, Zelas, Xellos, and Filia long enough to give Lina the time to chant, control, and cast."

He went on. "When she used the spell against Shabradnigdo in the past, and HellMaster, they seemed amused at the idea that she would use such a spell against them, and let her try. I don't think these three will make the same mistake. Also, we don't know the state of the melt, Shabradnigdo might be free of the ice when we get there, and he will recall Lina destroyed a part of him with the same spell. He will not let her do so again. They will either try to stop her, or worse, make her miscast, so that she destroyed the world."

Sylphiel was next. "I agree with Zel, but I add one more thing. If we fail, there is still a chance that Seirune might prevail against them. If we fail we must do so in a way that give her that opportunity. The place to cast the Giga Slave is at the gates of Seirune, not on Wolfpack Island. I recommend that we send the spell to Prince Phillonel and trust him to know whether to use it or send it to yet others who might use it. I suspect that when the dragons catch wind of this they will at least temporarily put aside their war."

"Unless the Mazothingys wait until they are too deeply into it to be able to do that fast enough to react in time." replied Gourry. "But yeah, if you have a fall back plan it makes sense to try that before destroying the world." he added.

"I suspect that strategy will have occured to them." added Luna.

"So, the Raguna Blade then." stated Lina, settling the debate.

"But how does that work?" asked Naga. "I remember we talked about that Giga Slave spell once, or maybe twice, though you wouldn't teach it to me Lina, which I think was so unfair, but what's this Raguna Blade?"

Lina looked at Naga, and with an eerie calmness in her voice she replied "It's the Giga Slave's little sister. Nothing can stand aganst it, but it is more like a sword blade so that it attacks a point target rather than a whole area. Zelas Brid is very similar, but this weapon draws upon the Lord of Nightmares herself, like the Giga Slave does."

Naga gulped, then looked thoughtful. "So, you can't stand back and throw it then." she said. "You will have to rush up and hit Shabradnigdo with it. How are you ever going to do that?" she asked.

"I'm open to suggestions." replied Lina.

Naturally there was a short silence.

"Can you refine it so you can launch it somehow?" asked Shantal.

Lina sighed. "If I had time I might be able to make a lance or arrow version of the spell, but only maybe. But no time..."

"Yeah, but, I don't know, can you attach it to another spell or a real thing like a spear or something? " Lina's younger version asked.

The petite mage smiled. "I am happy you are thinking about this, Shantal. You really might get to be as good as me one day, after all. But the Raguna Blade is cast between the user's hands. I'd have to attach it to something living. No, it would need a mind to go with it, so, someone living. Thus, me."

"Remember what we discussed. Can you pass it to someone else, Lina?" aksed Luna.

"Well, I was able to cast the Giga Slave into the Sword of Light when we fought Shabradnigdo, so, if Gourry still had that sword I might be able to do that. But beyond that, I don't know. Like I said I've never tried handing it over anyone. I doubt Gourry can use it, he's a great swordsman and all that, but he hasn't used too many magical blades other than those you just draw and use." Lia said, in a thoughtful tone. "As for giving it to you, we'd have to try I guess."

Gourry shrugged and gave her an apologetic smile. "Can't win 'em all, can we?" he said, ruffling his wife's hair.

"Sorry Gourry, no offence." said Luna. "With my experience and Ceiphied within me I was wondering if I could weild it."

Luna asked her sister "Lina, if we try, will you be recovered for tommorrow?"

Lina nodded. "If I eat a lot, and rest well, one cast shouldn't be too draining, especially if I don't maintain it very long" she replied.

"I'll get us some water on the boil. Rice okay?" volunteered Gary.

Anesha chuckled "Well, Shantal, this was partly your idea, I suggest you get washing the rice, I suspect we will need a lot."

"Mother!" pouted Shantal as they both got up to get cooking. "Okay, but I get to watch then." she huffed.

"Fine by me." smiled Lina, remembering her own strong willed stubborness. "Right, the sooner the food and the soft bed are ready the sooner I can begin."

"Little Sister..." said Luna, stress marking, but the rest of the table just had a laugh.

"I'll write the cover letter for daddy while we wait." said Amelia

"What's the plan if this works?" asked Zel.

"If we can do this, I can attack Shabradnigdo." said Luna. "I might be able to reach him, if not I'll be one hell of a distraction for Lina to have a chance. I'm hoping I can take the Raguna Blade from Lina and leave her free and strong enough to cast a second blade, if needed. I don't know, until we see the conditions on the Island we won'tbe able to form a full plan, I'm afraid. But it's something."

"Dangerous, but what isn't in this affair?" put in Milgasa.

Luna looked sad as she nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I really, really don't want to die, but as the Knight of Ceiphied that is a risk I can be asked to take, and it looks like I may need to." she said. "So, any other bright ideas, I'm listening. Heck, I'll even listen to a few dull ones.

"Since we are dealing in worst case scenarios I might as well warn you that if you are all magicy with the power of the Lord of Nightmares I'm not sure how well Resurection will work. And we need the magic circle for Golden Resurection, which I don't know how to cast, though I sure know it works." put in Sylphiel as she looked at her hand that was missing a little finger.

She smiled and said to Zel "I have felt sad about this from time to time, but you know, if we get through this, and this is the worst that happens in this whole affair I think from now on I'll be so happy whenever I see this." she added.

Of course, she was also twiddling with her emerald wedding ring.

Zel smiled tenderly. "Maybe we will get another green flash,eh?" he said.

"Look behind you if you are up at dawn." said Gary, as he came ito the room. "They happen at dawn as well as dusk, but more rarely. By the way, the food will be ready in a few minutes."

"Well, that would be something, to see one of each in the same year." said Zel.

"A what?" querried Naga who had been sitting there listening.

They explained the green flash to her. "Oh really?" she said, serious for a change. "I thought I saw something like that once when I was walking alone along a beach at evening. But, I'd swear it was purple."

"That can happen too," said Zel, "but it is definitely a once in a life time happening for most people. If we are lucky, you are blessed."

Naga smirked. "Well, of course. after all, it's me!" she enthused.

Lina sighed and muttered something that sounded almost, but not quite, entirely unlike "Witch" under her breath..."

Luna distracted them by saying "Well, no time like the present, eh sis?"

A few minutes later they were out in the "Magical Girl Battle Arena". Shantal looked on excitedly while Anesha rigged some protection spells with Sylphiel's help. Lina whined "Do we have to do this here?"

"Yup. Serves you right too." replied Luna.

When they were done Lina and Luna entered the Arena while the others looked on. After a minute Lina held her hands as if gripping two handed sword, concentrated, and chanted

"You, who are a part of the King of Nightmares;  
You, who are released from the universe; A freezing black blade of darkness;  
Be my power, be my arm; Together we walk on the path of destruction;  
Crashing down even the souls of Gods."

A wierd sort of a black "antiflash" of darkness erupted from Lina's hands and a jagged blade of black energy shot out. "H-here..." she gasped holding the sword out as best she could for Luna.

Luna tried to take the sword with her left hand but it was even worse than gripping water. "Damn. "she muttered. "Turn it off Lina, let me think."

Lina did so and dropped to one knee, breathing hard.

"It seems to be attached to whatever you cast it on, like your hands, and nothing else." mused Luna. "Hmmm..."

After a minute she asked "Lina, can you do it one last time? If this doesn't work I'll give up, I promise. I want you to hold my stump and try casting the Blade through it."

"Huh?" said Lina as she got up on her feet again. "I don't know how that'll work..."

"Worst case scenario you take off a bit more of my arm, not that I can use it for much anyway. And who can say, maybe it'll knock off the sealing spell? Best case scenario, I can control and use the blade."

"B-but I don't want to hurt you, Luna."

Luna smiled softly. "Sis, I don't want to be hurt either, but we have to try something, okay?"

Lina nodded. "Okay, one last time, then I do have to rest, or forget me for tommorrow."

"I see that." smiled Luna.

Lina went to Luna's right side and gently took her sister's stump of a wrist in her hands. It still looked sore and was obviously still a fairly fresh, healing wound. "I'm so sorry, sis..."she murmured, looking at the place where Luna's beautiful hand had been.

Luna nodded, and said "Me too, sis, but what are we going to do?"

Lina took a deep breath and once more she chanted

"You, who are a part of the King of Nightmare;  
You, who are released from the universe; A freezing black blade of darkness;  
Be my power, be my arm; Together we walk on the path of destruction;  
Crashing down even the souls of Gods."

The anti flash, and again with the black jagged energy blade. Lina struggled to hold it still while Luna struggled to take it over from Lina. Several long seconds later and Lina was tiring as Luna's frustration mounted. "Ceiphied, please! Help us." cried Luna in despair.

Lina felt what could only be described as a "Whoosh" of magical, no, it was some other kind of energy, flood out of Luna, and into the blade. There was a real flash this time and the blade...

TURNED WHITE?

The shock drove Lina off, and she sat down hard, gasping for breath again, blinded by the light.

But she hardly noticed, she was in shock! The blade was holding! Ceiphied was somehow manisfesting through her sister and had taken over the control of the Raguna Blade! And Luna was swiftly thrusting and parrying in a practice set that showed she now controlled the Blade and could use it as a weapon.

But after a couple of minutes the white blade flickered out and she too dropped to the ground, gasping and panting for breath.

"W-wow... so that's high level magic huh? Lina, I think I missed my calling, wanna trade?"

"If it's possible" said Lina, as she staggered up and over to her sister, giving her a hug. "I'd give you my right hand if it would help." she said.

"Don't you be so ridiculous, Lina." smiled Luna. "When you hold that name sake niece you owe me you're gonna need two hands." she panted.

Lina hugged her. "With all my heart Luna, with all my heart."

"No, that's be messy." smirked Luna.

Yeah, it was a bad joke, but given the tension they were under it was enough to set them off in a fit of sisterly laughter. Which is how the others found them when they came to take them back to the house to eat.

"Sheesh, they already had lunch..." complained Shantal as she dished up the third, or was it the thirteenth, plate of rice for Lina.

The petite mage giggled at her petite wanna be and said "I'll teach ya how to eat like this. You need some magical spells, some magical potions, and a bit of training to be able to eat this much, but when you get to casting high energy spells like sis and I were doing you'd be surprised how fast you go through the power, and how much you need."

"Will you teach me some of those too?" asked Shantal eagerly.

"Yeah, but not until you prove yourself ready. I learned my lessons about needing to be in control and you gotta learn them too, or you'll blow up something you really don't want to, like the world. Nothing personal, just a safety issue." Lina replied to a disappointed Shanatal.

"Did I hear Lina use the words "control" and "safety" in the same sentence as a reference to herself?" asked Zel, sounding dead serious.

"Yes you did dear." smirked Sylphiel. "And you are very lucky she is too weak to demonstrate her techniques on your wonderful blue hide..."

"What the hell does that mean?!" yelled Lina, with a snarl.

Naga, who was also sitting at the table sighed "I miss my laugh..."

Amelia, who was beside her and had been giggling suddenly got serious and snapped "NO!"

Naga cringed. "Okay sister dearest..."

"Wow, what's the secret?" said Gourry as he watched the exchange.

"I'm the little sister!" beamed Amelia. "Right, Lina?"

"Uh..." gulped Lina as she looked towards Luna.

"Yep!" smirked Luna. "Works every time, damn the luck."

"I-it does?" asked Lina.

"Why do you think you are still alive?" grinned Luna.

Lina sighed and resumed eating. Obviously her sister was feeling better.

Naga sighed again. "Oh, it works, you better believe it. Why do you think I tried to stay away so long? Because of Daddy? Ha! Much as he upsets me I can wrap him around my little finger when it's important. But Amelia? Oh no, oh no oh no oh no oh no..."

"You make me sound like a tyrant." pouted Amelia. "You take that back!"

Naga did, which, if anything, tended to confirm her words. Amelia a gave a"Gyahhh!" and left the table in an even poutier pout.

After a brief silence Lina asked Luna quietly "Uh, forgive my ignorance, but, what is it?"

Luna smiled. "Love, sis. Love. Haven't you noticed? I was terrible to you, but I could never bring myself to hate you or be as harsh as I know I threatened."

Lina gulped.

Naga added "Yes, I can't say "No" to Amelia when she gets going. I knew that I had to leave home to practice my darker magic, not because Daddy wouldn't approve, I could have dealt with that, but I knew that Amelia would take his side and insist that I do what he wanted, and that I'd end up giving in. That's why I really ran away. I'm too tender hearted..."

Lina dropped her spoon and sputtered, then tried to cover by pretending to cough...

Anesha laughed and came over to Luna. "Ready to let me have a look?" she said.

Luna nodded and held her hand out. A few minutes and a magical exam later and a disappointed Anesha had to report that the Raguna Blade hadn't undone the sealing spell. "If you can kill Beatmaster, maybe it will lift, otherwise, I don't know what else to try." she said, sadly.

"It's okay, I'm going to be able to handle this now." smiled Luna.

With that, it was bed time for the Inverse sisters, even though the sun was still way up. But that's the heck of high magic, it tires you out.

A lot... 


	39. Chapter 41

The pre dawn air was chilly. Add in the wind from being in flight and it was downright cold for the small group that was quickly moving towards the island that held many memories for them, almosty all of them bad. They had been awakened by Milgasa at the rising of the Zodaical lights to prepare for the raid. Hot water was ready, a pleasant surprise, and they also found that Anesha had made them all a cold breakfast before she had left with Gary and Shantal to make their way to Seirune. Milgasa had helped them, and fulfillied his promise to Shantal for a ride, by taking them, overnight, to the small city where Lina had met her friend Michelle the witch. It had a main road to the White City and would be a good place to travel from.

Apparently Shantal had even behaved in the air, though she had tried to get Milgasa to make himself her pet once they landed. Until Anesha caught her at it...

Anyway, Milgasa seemed just fine for going without sleeping, and the others were as rested as they were going to be, so after eating, and preparing, they left and headed west.

Now the island loomed before them. Zel and Sylphiel turned back as the sun came up, but, no green flash. There were some strange streaky clouds blowing in, though, and the red and black sky behind them gave the ominous appearance of smoke and fire, or of having been hit with something between a Dragon Slave and a Giga Slave.

And Lina hadn't even done anything.

"I hope that doesn't portend something." gulped the white mage to her husband.

"It portends that our adventure is about over, one way or another." said Zel in a strangely quiet voice.

At any rate they were almost on top of the island now, coming out of the sun, hoping against hope that the trick would work a second time.

"What's the final plan?" asked Lina of her sister.

"Land on the ice, fire up the Raguna Blades, and charge. It's about all we will have time for I think." was the solemn reply.

"If they let us get that close." said Zel as he scooted forward to hear the conversation.

They were now at the island, skiming the surface. The mages had piled onto Milgasa's back at the last second to avoid the effects of whatever it was that was cutting off their ability to use magic. A brief minute and they would clear the top of the island. As they passed the halfway point they could see the top of the iceburg. It was pretty small, Shabradnigdo was just about free, it seemed. Tommorrow, would have been too late, maybe even this afternoon. The gang tensed for action.

Then they noticed a blonde woman floating just above the lip of the island, looking at them, a psychopathic grin on her face...

It seemed their arrival had now been officially noticed.

"Watch out for a shield of some sort!" called Amelia.

Milgasa turned at the last second and looped around. "Try not to land." said Luna. "If we do we may never get any farther." Milgasa rose, trying to get above the defensive shield.

"There isn't one." said Xellos, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "But won't you be civil and come for tea?" he invited.

Milgasa attempted to fly on. A sudden scream came from above, close, and another Golden Dragon came flying out of the sky at them.

Filia, in her hated true form, from above, and behind, out of the sun. Two could play that game...

Milgasa was limited to what he could do with the extra weight on his back and had to turn away again. With a snarl Fila turned tightly and managed to catch him a blow that sent him spinning. The riders were dumped off...

As they plummetted to the ground the instincts of all the magic users kicked in and several "Raywings" were cast. A foolish effort, given that they were over the center of the island, where their magic was sealed...

Except, this time, it wasn't...

Lina and Naga dashed down to grab Luna and Gourry, the others were perplexed, but took up defensive positions around Milgasa. "What's going on?" asked Amelia.

"We'd find it easier to have tea if you were all alive is all." explained Xellos with his customary smirk. "We, um, anticipated you might need the extended version of the invitation, so Mistress turned off the magic supression..."

The gang had no choice but to settle to the ground. Just where they didn't want to be. "If they get us inside it's over." warned Luna.

"It's over now, Luna dear." replied Beastmaster herself, as she hovered above them. She looked triumphant as she asked "How's your poor hand?"

"The pain is getting less. I am still a terrible lefty though." replied Luna, trying to be as matter of fact as she could.

Behind the group Filia landed and morphed back to her human form. "You're lucky my orders were just to make you land." she spat at Milgasa, giving him an open look of hatred as she walked up. Milgasa bowed in greeting and said nothing.

Looking around the Slayers could see they had been expected. There was a pavillion set up in the middle of the island with a big table and all the fixings for a proper tea party. Given that it was just past dawn it did seem a bit strange, but under the circumstances, well, what else was new? With a sigh Luna gave them a signal to go sit down. An all out attack didn't seem the wisest idea just at the moment.

As soon as they were seated Xellos and Filia morphed into a butler and a maid and proceeded to duitifully serve the tea. Beastmaster, as the gracious hostess indicated they should drink, and took a sip herself.

"Ah, Black Oolong, there is nothing quite like it." she sighed, happily.

"It is full bodied, but do you not find that an Earl Gray has perhaps more brilliance to it's flavour?" asked Zel. Well, if Zelas wanted to talk about tea, he was going to see she got a conversation...

Zelas cocked an eye at him, then smiled. "Perhaps," she said, "but I am not always in the mood for Oil of Bergamot. Well, but I do tend to be particular..."

"Yes, what does go with carrion?" said Luna, sarcastically.

Zelas gave her an oh so sweet smile and said "Speaking of which, have you come about your hand, dear? I still have it..."

"No good to me now." she replied, gritting her teeth. She was not going to let Zelas goad her.

"No? Perhaps you'd like someone to cast "Resurection" and give you a new one? Ah, if only they could..." smiled Zelas.

"Please, enough." said Sylphiel, clearly pained. "Why are you doing this?"

"It amuses me." said Zelas, matter of factly. "Why, what were you thinking I would do with you? Brother Dynast and Sister Dolphin are mounting guard on Daddy, and are working together to melt the ice faster, so it's not like I have any reason to do battle and kill you all, or anything. Just a short time more and Daddy will be awake again, and we can all go greet him. I have missed my father so much, you know."

"It is interesting, most people, among other rational creatures, don't realize we Mazoku have all the same feelings the rest of you have, it's just that we use them differently. Why, it shocks many to realise I actually love my daddy. Yet it's true. Oh, not exactly the way you love your fathers, but in my own way I do appreciate that he gave me life. As a result of my feelings I'm even able to draw on his power from time to time without being destroyed. See, it's not like I'm calling on him because I feel unable to do something with my own power, it's more like I'm sharing with him, a daddy/daughter moment, so to speak."

"Like when I Dragon Slave the hell out of naughty dragons and people who fly to my island unbidden and try to take my daughter in law away..."

"Yeah, I wondered about that..." said Lina, slowly.

"Bit of a shock was it?" smirked Zelas. Lina nodded.

"Well, I don't do it all the time." the mazoku said.

"So, I take it we are just supposed to have tea with you until we run out of time and Lord Ruby eye awakens?" asked Naga, carefully.

"Ah, the little thief speaks." said Beastmaster, fixing a dangerous looking stare on the White Serpent. "I do believe that's the plan, yes. The only question left is, when he awakens, will he find you with us or against us? I am not particulary interested in murder, believe it or not. Oh, it has its uses, and its place, but I'm not like my sister who loves death and destruction. I'm more about control. So, while we are waiting for daddy to awaken, I'm going to see if I can persuade any of you to join us. Daddy will probably be happy enough to accept you if you are under my control. Even you, thief. I'll even let you join us, if you dare."

"I want my laugh back!" snapped Naga.

"Certainly, join us, and it is yours! I promise. And you don't just have to take my word for it, ask my dear Filia here. Every promise I've made to her I have fulfilled." soothed Beastmaster.

"It's true." smiled the golden maid as she pointedly refilled Naga's cup.

"But you took it from me by force!" wailed the White Serpent. "I want to win it back."

"Gracia." said an annoyed Amelia.

"Well, we can arrange for that if you want," replied Zelas, "but surely not here at tea?"

"Well, of course not, that would be, well, undignified..." responded a quieter Naga, as she haughtily lifted her tea cup, pinky out, to take a proper sip...

As she did so she exchanged glances with Lina...

It was just like the old days...

"Let me cut to the heart of the matter." continued Zelas, in a pleasant tone of voice, like she was having a chat with friends. "We have won. You are too late, and also we are too strong for you, this time. You have two options. Die now, or join with us and die much later when the world ends."

"Yeah, yeah, that's the same deal that your daddy gave us the first time we met. Sheesh, can't you come up with something more original?" said Lina, trying to sound bored.

Zelas gave Lina a particularly smirky smirk and replied "Well, I could offer you something in a nice guilded cage, perhaps..." she replied.

"No thanks, I'm not much of a canary." said Lina.

"But you have such a good singing voice, Lina." enthused Gourry. "Why, you are easily right up there with that idle singer we both like, Hyasha-something Megumi!"

"Hyashabara! And that's not the point, you Jellyfish!" shouted Lina as she rose to her feet. Poor Gourry couldn't seem to duck fast enough...

Zelas broke out in genuine laughter. Xellos moved to interveine, and Filia just sighed as she took some of the trays away to the kitchen...

And no one was between Naga and BeastMaster...

"RaTilt!" screamed the White Serpent,launching said spell into the Mazoku high lord.

"Instant Dragon Slave!" screamed Lina, tossing a pink spheroid dead at the retreating Filia. Fortunately, perhaps, for Filia, Lina didn't have time to power even that low power version of the Dragon Slave up to full, thus she did survive being hit directly with that deadly to dragons spell.

Just...

There was pandemonium back at the wreck of the pavillion. After they stopped skidding around from the blast made by the Dragon Slave, Zel and Amelia managed to conjure up their own Ra Tilts, one for Zelas, and one for Xellos. The Mazoku lady, and her priest were driven back enough to let the gang rush through towards the edge of the island. Milgasa and Gourry had their swords out and interposed themselves between the magic users and the monsters. By now the smoke was clearing and all could see that there was no crater, just a stunned Golden Dragon lying on the ground. Wolfpack Island was as tough as its owner...

"I'll take that as a "No."" snarled an angry Beastmaster as she picked herself off the ground. It was clear that her dignity had been by far the worst thing that was injured.

She turned to Xellos. "Kill them."

This was going to be deadly...

Xellos wasted no time. He knew where the greatest danger lay and drove straight at Lina. But he had learned the lesson of Dynast, and when Gourry interposed himself between Lina and the trickster priest with the Blast Blade, Xellos found he had to suddenly back off to avoid a rather fatal slashing. Zelas came up in support, though, and a Zelas Brid darted out at Gourry. Amazingly, the magically sharp blade was able to cut it, but after a couple of such passes Gourry said "This thing's heating the Blade up, I won't be able to hold it back forever."

Zel drew his sword and chanted "Astral Vine" on to it. "Hope this works..." he muttered to Sylphiel as he dashed forward. He slashed at Zelas, who promptly side stepped and whirled the Zelas Brid at the chimera. Zel had to drop and roll to avoid the lash of the spell which Zelas now used like a bull whip. There were ominous explosive sounds every time the energy ribbon slashed the ground beside Zel. The hits were getting closer all the time and Zelgadiss had the distinct feeling that he was being played with.

Perhaps it was her soft and demure nature. It seemed that no one ever took Sylphiel that seriously when it came to a fight. And indeed, the Holy Priestess of Sairaag wasn't much of an offensive fighter, though she had proven more than once that she could if she had to, so perhaps it was understandable she was overlooked.

Bad move on Zelas' part...

"Resurection!" Sylphiel chanted, and cast the holy healing spell straight into the Dark Lord. Well, she had Zel to protect, after all...

Independantly, but simultaneously, Naga rushed up and slammed another "Ra Tilt!" into her as well.

Zelas screamed as if she had been set on fire and writhed and twisted as the spells flowed through her. Indeed, she had to retreat to the Astral plain to get away from it. "Hurry Zel!" she said, helping him onto his feet again.

"Thanks to you both." said Zel as he dusted himself off.

"I think we better form a team and hope three on one can keep her off balance long enough for Lina to use the Raguna Blade." suggested Naga. The others agreed.

As this was happening Gourry and Milgasa tangled with Xellos. The priest of Zelas found himself trying to avoid the Blast Blade which meant that he tended to press his attacks on Milgasa, but Gourry came up from behind often enough to prevent him from getting a telling attack on the Dragon lord. It was annoying, but it would only be a matter of time before one or the other of them gave him an opening. And in the background he could see Filia getting up and collecting herself. Soon enough, the Destroying Angel would enter the fray, and the tables would turn...

In the meantime Amelia decided to help the swordsmen, and Xellos suddenly found he had left himself open to receiving a Ra Tilt of his own. It snapped, no doubt about it...

As this was going on Lina got busy too. She drew on her inner resources and chanted the Raguna Blade spell while holding Luna's wrist. A black blade of pure energy sprouted from her sister's body and went white as Luna took control.

She then repeated the process and a black blade of her own sprouted from her hands. Just in time.

Zelas reappeared. Shrieking like a avenging Harpie she leapt from from the Astral plain and fell on the group that had attacked her. They were scattered and driven to the ground where they would be easy pickings.

"Sis!" cried Luna.

"On it!" shouted Lina, springing to the attack.

Zelas roared in rage but had to fall back from the blade, too deadly even for her to withstand.

Luna probably should have leapt to the attack as well, but she had an even more desperate plan in mind. One that she wanted her sister to have no part of. Noticing that Zelgadiss had rolled closest to her she leapt to him and hauled him upright with her left hand.

"Huh?" gruted Zel as he was suddenly back on his feet.

Luna had no time to argue, so she turned the will power that was hers from Ceiphied onto the poor chimera. "Fly with me, now." she commanded.

Zel staggered for a second then grabbed her in an embrace and cast Raywing. They were airborn.

"Now! Fly as fast as you can until we are aimed at Shabradnigdo then throw me at him."

"What?" said Zel.

Luna began to cry. "There's no time! I can't hold this any longer than sis can, and there'll be no other chance. Throw me at Shabby! He's who we came to fight! This is our only shot, Zel."

"I'll take you." he said.

"No." Luna commanded. "You let me go! Only one of us has to risk their life, and as the Knight of Ceiphied, that's me. If I live I'll need you to recover me, if not only one of us needs die. Now! Be quick! It weakens!"

With an absolute feeling of horror Zelgadiss nodded and blasted up into a ballistic tragectory. His target was the iceburg. At the peak he released Luna.

"I'm so sorry, Lady Luna." he said, tears in his eyes.

Luna gave a brief smile. "Tell Lina I love her." she said as she drifted away from him. He gulped and turned to dash back to the island. He just knew he had to be on it before she hit her target.

As this happened he and Luna became visible to the fighters. Zelas in particular.

The dark lord was twisting and turning to avoid Lina's blade. One touch was deadly, but she knew Lina couldn't hold it very long.

Then she saw Luna and Zel and realised her mistake.

"NOOOO! STOP!!!" she screamed. Ignoring Lina she shot into the air like a golden streak to try and stop the white blade now hurtling towards her father...

"What?" cried Lina. Then she too saw what was happening. "LUNA!!!" she screamed, rushing forward. "Ray..."

She was tackled to the ground by Naga and Sylphiel. "No! Lina, you can't help, and you can't die." cried Sylphiel. "Please Lina, it's in the hands of fate now." gasped Naga, who seemed to have somehow ended up on the bottom...

The cry so startled the group fighting Xellos that they all stopped and stared, even the trickster priest...

The white star that was Luna dipped down to the ice. Where Dolphin and Dynast were couldn't be told, but if they were busy magically melting the ice they may not have seen her coming, at least not until it was too late.

The white star disappeared into the ice. There was a second's pause...

A white flash, brighter than the noon time sun drove all the watchers around half blinded. Instinctively they all hit the ground. Zel was inspired to put on a final burst and just made the island...

The shockwave carried all before it and drove everyone on top of the island towards the far side. Then, just as they feared they'd be driven over the edge, the wave passed, and, after they spent a second in the vacume that the blast wave was dragging behind itsef, the air rushed back in and acted almost like a second shockwave, but in the other direction.

Great. Now they found themselves driven towards the edge they just came from.

Fortunately, the second wave wasn't quite as strong and they were all safe when it passed.

Relatively speaking...

Beyond the island, an evil, ruby red cloud rose from the water's surface, and slowly formed into a dark, ugly mushroom shape that towered miles high.

Nothing, and no one, could be seen, only what looked like steaming hot water.

Zel untwisted himself and stood up, giving a cry of pain as he did so. He grabbed his right wrist and looked startled. He seemed to have actually broken something. Well, that was a first...

He gave a worried look around. If the explosion had been this hard on him, how had the others fared? With relief he noted that Sylphiel was getting up some several feet away and seemed only to have been banged up a bit.

"Zel?"she cried,and ran towards him. "Oh Zel!"

"I'm glad we are alive,love. I'm injured. If you aren't then you must fly out and look for Luna. I'll keep." he said as he hugged his wife. Carefully...

Sylphiel nodded, gulped, and flew off over the water.

Right behind her went Milgasa in his dragon form, also searching the water. He was even able to dive beneath it, despite the heat which drove Sylphiel away from the surface.

Amelia in the meantime sat up and held her eyes. "They burn, they burn!" she cried. She had looked dead on at the flash.

"Yeah, yeah..." muttered Naga as she lurched to her sister's side. "Damn it, my ears won't stop ringing." It took a minute, but they eventually managed to heal each other.

Xellos had, of course, gone to help Filia.

Gourry rolled over, gave his head a shake, then turned to look for...

Lina...

The petite mage was slowly crawling in the general direction of the edge of the cliff. She was clearly in a state of shock. Like Amelia she had looked at the blast directly. She had been following Luna. She hadn't turned away as fast as the Justice Princess and now she was clearly blind. That was not nessessarily a bad thing though, she was clearly insensible to her danger of falling, and was only able to think of finding her sister.

"Luna..." she gasped, as she crawled along. "Luna... Luna..."

Gourry stopped her and caught her into a tight hug near the edge. Lina at first tried to weakly pull away, then surrendered into the hug, a blank stare on her face. Gourry called for help and Amelia and Naga both ran to help. Between the two white priestesses Lina was soon healed, but she only looked out to the ocean, where a small golden dragon and a black dot could be flying back and forth through the steam. Overhead the ruby cloud was begining to dissipate.

After a long time Lina gulped, swallowed, and with a quavering voice asked "Luna, what do I tell Mommy and Daddy?" With that,she burried her face into Gourry's chest and gave way to inconsolable tears.

After several exhaustive searches Sylphiel and Milgasa finally had to return to the island. "Nothing but hot water." panted Sylphiel as Zel hugged her. Milgasa saddly added "The ocean floor has a crater in it. It was truely a powerful blast."

"It is over."

The group turned, except for the still weeping Lina. It had been Xellos who spoke. He was standing behind them, an arm around a shaken and bruised Fila who was standing beside him.

"Are you going to kill us now?" asked a tired sounding Milgasa.

"I mean that I can no longer sense my Mistress, the Lords Dolphin or Dynast, nor the part of Lord Shabradnigdo who was in the ice." he said quietly. "You have won gloriously, it is over."

The group looked around at each other. They seemed stunned. "What now?" one of them asked.

"Go home." said Xellos.

Finally Lina looked up at Xellos and choked out "How? How did she cause such an explosion?"

Xellos reflected for a few seconds, then replied "The lords Dolphin and Dynast had entered into a trance with each other, and with Lord Shabradnigdo. This was so they could control the magic they were using. They were worried that thawing Lord Ruby Eye too fast might defeat their purpose. As a result they were not able to pull out quickly and respond to Luna. Plus, when the Raguna Blade cut the ice it also cut their magic spells, sending a pulse of destruction shooting back at the three of them. Being it was from the Ultimate Lord they couldn't resist it, and they basically exploded. Because they were linked they magnified the blast and produced the almost Giga Slave like explosion we saw. As a result, the force was too strong for either my mother, or your sister, to survive, Lina. As I said, it is over. You have won."

"It is over," said Lina with sorrow "but there is no victory. If you are going to kill us, this is the opportune moment, I doubt we can resist you now."

"It has occured to me Lina, but it has also occured to me that you have been responsible, both directly and indirectly, for the destruction of two pieces of Lord Shabradnigdo, and all five of the High Lords of the mazoku race. Quite an achievement for one life time. Frankly, I don't fancy my chances, and I actually have more to live for now than I want to risk losing by dying for vengance." As he spoke he gave Filia a slight squeeze.

Filia turned to him and fearfully said "I have lost my immortality and my powers that Mistress granted me."

"You will pledge to me then, and we shall carry on. But I cannot make you as strong as she did, we must rethink the "Destroying Angel"." Xellos replied.

Filia nodded and laid her head meekly on his shoulder.

"Do you wish to stay with him, Filia?" asked Milgasa.

"Yes, or else die. I hate dragons, I hate myself, and I will never change." she said.

Milgasa gave her a long look. Finally he sighed and said "Live long then, Filia. Alas, I fear that one day this will come to gnaw on you, but you must deal with that yourself."

"I know. I will." she replied softly.

"Then let us go." said Milgasa. He hunched down to let Gourry and Lina mount his back. The rest were going to fly back under their own magic.

"We wish to come too." said three voices from behind Xellos. The three elf slaves had turned up, and clearly wanted their freedom.

"Why should you be let go? You are ours, slaves." said a frowning Xellos.

The elves held up the two eggs that Filia had laid. The Golden Dragon gave a scream."No, not my babies! Not again!" She started forward, then, fearing for her eggs, she sank, sobbing, to her knees.

"Xellos." said Lina. "Let us make a truce. Your two eggs for their freedom, and I am tired to my soul of wandering, I will stay home in Zephilia. If you stay out of my country then we need never meet and be a danger to each other. Besides, I promised my sister a name sake niece, I too have more to live for than to die for."

"Will you never come to see us anymore?" asked Amelia, sounding sad and worried.

Lina gave a sad smile. "I reserve the right to go to Seirune to visit old friends but I will not partake in any more adventures unless they unavoidably come to me." she replied.

Xellos opened a purple eye and gave Lina a hard look. "That I can do." he finally said. He turned back to the elves. "Give the eggs gently to their mother and go." he commanded.

In a minute the eggs were in Filia's arms and the elves were on Milgasa's back. With that, there being nothing else to say, Milgasa and the magic users flew off into the air and headed east for the shore.

"How do you feel Lina?" Gourry asked his wife as he hugged her close for comfort.

Lina turned her tear filled eyes up to him. "Well, we did a lot of good, but it came at a terrible cost, and nothing's truely over. How do I feel? Hmmm, there's only one word really that fits."

She gulped, then said...

"Bittersweet." 


End file.
